Justice Retold
by JayColin
Summary: SLASH Clark/Oliver - The detonator broke, so Clark decides to go in and manually set off the charges to blow the Ridge Facility. However, an accident involving black kryptonite causes two Clarks to leave the facility. The normal one and the Red K version.
1. Chapter 1

Justice Retold

By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to the television show Smallville are the property of its creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured on the show.

Author's Note: This version of the story has been edited for posting on this site. If you'd like to read the story in its entirety, including the steamier parts, it's posted on my eFiction archives, the links to which are in my profile.

-o-0-o-

Chapter One

-o-0-o-

Arriving at Chloe's apartment, Clark entered without knocking and said, "Hey Chloe."

Chloe smiled, but before she could say anything, Lois, who was busy packing a suitcase looked over at Clark with a disapproving look on her face and said, "God, Smallville. Learn how to knock. What if I'd been naked? Ew."

Noticing Clark's curious glance at Lois's suitcase, Chloe said, "Lois is jetting off to Monte Carlo with Oliver."

"Oliver?" Clark asked, surprised. He honestly didn't know why he was surprised – Lois was Oliver's girlfriend. It made sense that they'd go on vacation together. So, then why did it hurt so much?

"I'll send you a postcard if I'm not too busy," Lois said as she packed a few more items into her suitcase.

Clark wasn't sure what possessed him to say it, but before he could stop himself, he found himself saying, "No, Lois, you should, um..." Of course, Clark then stopped talking as he wasn't really sure what he was going to say.

A thought obviously coming to her, Lois smiled and finished Clark's sentence. "Get a few new bikinis. Good idea. Thanks, Smallville."

Before Clark can say anything else, Lois grabbed her purse and hurried out of the apartment. After she was gone, Clark looked over at Chloe and said, "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to help Oliver keep his secret from her."

"What that he's the Green Arrow?" Chloe asked as she walked over to the small kitchenette with a mug in her hand and picked up a tea bag. "No offense, Clark, but you weren't exactly honest with Lana about your secret, either."

A sad look on his face, Clark said, "Look how that ended up. Maybe all keeping secrets does is force you to lie to the people you care about."

Looking at Clark, her gaze curious, Chloe asked, "Are we still talking about Oliver?" Truth be told, Chloe had this vague feeling ever since Thanksgiving that there was something off with Clark where Oliver was concerned. She couldn't put her finger on what it was though.

Not really sure why he didn't want to continue this line of conversation, Clark quickly said, "The guy who saved you at the Planet – he didn't exactly get away. It's Bart."

Clearly shocked, Chloe quickly came around the counter and asked, "What? Wait a minute. Bart can super speed, too?"

"He's actually a lot faster than I am," Clark admitted. "That's the truth. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Not wanting Clark to feel bad, Chloe was quick to say, "It's fine. You were protecting him. It's okay. I mean, if anyone gets it, it's me. But why are you outing him now?"

"I think he's headed for trouble and I need to find him," Clark revealed and then with a hopeful look, asked, "Can you GPS his cell phone?"

Heading over to her computer and sitting down, Chloe replied, "Yeah, I can try. Do you have his number?"

Pulling a slip of paper out of the pocket of his jeans, Clark handed it to Chloe, as he said, "He broke into a LuthorCorp plant down in Mexico. Now I think Lex is onto him. If he tries to break into another facility..."

Typing Bart's cell number into her computer and running a check, Chloe shook her head, and said, "No good. His phone must be off."

Thinking for a moment, Clark asked, "What about call history? Can you pull up a record?"

"Legally? Absolutely not," Chloe said. Of course, a little thing like it being illegal certainly wasn't going to stop her from helping her best friend. Smiling, Chloe tapped into the call history and found a Metropolis phone number that had been repeated several times.

Looking over Chloe's shoulder, Clark said, "There's over a dozen calls to that number in the last 24 hours."

"Let's see whose on the other end," Chloe said, as she proceeded to do a little more digging. It wasn't long before she found out that the phone number was for a business.

"Artemis Global Consortium?" Clark asked, as he thought for a minute. "Never heard of them."

Doing some more digging, Chloe found out more information about the company and told Clark, "It's a subsidiary of J.L. International, which is a satellite company currently orbiting..." Chloe got a surprised look on her face as she said, "...Queen Industries."

A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Clark said, "It's Oliver. He's using Bart to attack LuthorCorp."

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, Bart sped into a LuthorCorp facility, easily avoiding the guards. Of course, considering that he could move so fast, it wasn't really surprising that they didn't even see him. Talking into his headset, the young man said, "I'm in."

Going over to the computer terminal, Bart plugs a high-tech device into the computer, ready to download all the information on the computer, but, of course, he wouldn't get the chance. For no sooner did he plug it in was he electrocuted and fell to the ground, unconscious, as several armed guards surrounded him.

"Not so fast now, are you," Lex Luthor said, as he followed the guards in and looked down at Bart.

-o-0-o-

Pushing aside the gate and entering Oliver's penthouse, Clark looked around and seeing the blond, he said, "Oliver."

Detecting that Clark seemed upset about something, Oliver said, "Look, Clark, whatever has your tighty whities in a bunch, now is not the time."

Ignoring the blond's comment, Clark asked, "Where's Bart?" This immediately caused Oliver to look up from the papers he was reading, and Clark could tell the blond was rather shocked that Clark knew about Bart. "I saw his phone records. I know he's working for you."

Coming down the steps and walking over to his desk, Oliver said, "Not for me. Working with me. There's a difference."

"It's not gonna matter much when he ends up in jail or worse."

"Yeah, you don't know what you're talking about," Oliver said, as he sat down behind his desk.

Coming closer and looking down at the blond, Clark said, "I know how much you hate Lex. Is that why you recruited Bart – to help with your little vendetta?"

Leaning forward, Oliver said, "No, to stop 33.1."

Shock clearly etched on Clark's face, he asked, "You know about 33.1?" Oliver nodded almost imperceptibly, causing Clark to ask, "Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?"

Looking like he couldn't believe what the brunet was asking him, which he really couldn't, he asked, "Clark, do you check in with me every time you run off to save the world?"

Ever since the very first time Oliver had met Clark, he knew that there was something very special about the younger man. In fact, Oliver would be lying to himself if he said that it wasn't love at first sight. That thought didn't scare the blond, as it would scare many others, as he'd long ago accepted the fact that he was bisexual. So, realizing that he was in love with Clark wasn't that shocking. But, despite his feelings for the brunet, Oliver simply could not understand him sometimes.

Standing up from his desk and walking away from the younger man, Oliver said, "Oh that's right. For a second there I forgot – you like to just wait for trouble to show up on your doorstep."

Clark couldn't help the anger that boiled up inside him at the blond's words and exclaimed, "That's not true!"

"Then why haven't you done anything to stop 33.1?"

"I was busy with another problem."

"What could possibly be more urgent than stopping 33.1, Clark?"

Angered by the blond's words, Clark was saying it before he even realized it, "Oh I don't know, Oliver. How about stopping a bunch of super-powered intergalactic criminals that are hell bent on killing me and anyone else who gets in their way?"

The moment the words were out of his mouth and Clark realized what it was he'd just said he regretted it. "Damn it, what have I done?" He thought. "Now I'm going to have to explain that."

Whatever Oliver expected Clark to say, it certainly wasn't what he just said. A look of utter confusion on his face, Oliver said, "Okay, Clark, you're going to have to explain that, please."

Sighing, Clark said, "Now is not really the best time for the full version."

"Then give me the short version."

"Okay, well, in a nutshell, I'm not from this planet," Clark said and the blond's eyes went wide. "When Lex was exhibiting super powers a few months back, it was because he was possessed by a person from my home planet – the person who brought about its total destruction. Because I couldn't bring myself to kill him, I ended up accidentally releasing several criminals that my biological father imprisoned before our planet was destroyed. They want revenge against him, but as he's dead, I'm the next best thing and they'll stop at nothing to get to me – including the slaughter of innocent people."

One of the keys to making Queen Industries the success that it was, had been for the blond to learn how to read people and he'd gotten very good at it. Closely watching Clark as he gave his explanation, Oliver couldn't detect even the slightest hint that the younger man was lying. As unbelievable as the story sounded, he simply did not believe that anyone could make something like that up and say it with a straight face.

After a few moments of silence, Oliver nodded and said, "Okay, Clark, I believe you. I'm sure you wouldn't lie to me about something that serious and stopping those criminals is definitely important. However, so is stopping Lex from building an army of super freaks – because that's what he's doing, Clark – he's starting a war."

Calming down, Clark asked, "What have you found out?"

"Not enough," Oliver said, clearly disappointed. "Last night Bart infiltrated a place that was supposed to house the mainframe for 33.1. That's the last time I heard from him. So I reconned the target this morning. The place had been stripped clean. Everything's gone. The whole thing was a setup."

"Lex has Bart. We have to find him."

"My team's already on it."

"Your team?"

Motioning towards the Green Arrow room, Clark turned to see the doors open and Victor Stone and Arthur Curry walking over.

"Not everyone flies solo, Kent," Victor said with a smile.

Looking at them for a moment, Clark couldn't help but ask, "How much did you two hear?"

Grinning, A.C. said, "Well, Kent, if you're referring to the fact that you're an alien from another planet – I think we heard enough."

"Well, actually, I think hearing more would be nice," Victor said. "But that can wait until after we save Bart from Lex."

"Agreed," Clark said. To be honest, Clark wasn't actually that upset that Oliver, Victor, and A.C. knew his secret, because they all had secrets of their own which he knew, so, Clark was confident he could trust the other men with his. So, with a grin, he added, "Just for the record though – I prefer intergalactic traveler, to alien from another planet."

"Okay, whatever you say, space cadet," Oliver said with a grin, causing Clark to groan and Victor and A.C. to laugh.

Victor then said, "Get used to it, Clark. Ollie loves making can-opener jokes at my expense."

"And fish jokes at mine," A.C. said. "So, you can't expect him not to jump on the alien thing."

All four of them laughed, before Oliver turned serious and said, "Okay, A.C. check the LuthorCorp manifests."

"Gotcha, boss," A.C. said with a nod.

After several minutes of silently doing their work, Oliver called for everyone's attention.

"I've compiled a list of all the LuthorCorp holdings within a 100-mile radius," Oliver told them as a video screen lowered from the ceiling to show a map. "Bart could be held in any of those facilities."

"That's a lot of real estate to cover," Victor commented and A.C. nodded.

A small smile coming to his face, Clark said, "I think I know someone who can help us narrow it down."

-o-0-o-

Half-an-hour later, Oliver turned on the video screen showing the inside of the elevator to his penthouse when he heard it moving.

"Mr. Queen, its Chloe Sullivan. Clark sent me."

Opening the entrance into the penthouse to allow Chloe in, Oliver asked, "Where's Clark?"

"He went to rescue Bart."

"He told you about Bart?" Oliver asked, obviously surprised at that revelation.

Chloe shrugged and said, "We trust each other. We tell each other everything – well, almost everything. I did have to figure out about your green-leather fetish on my lonesome." Noticing that Oliver looked concerned and was about to say something, she added, "Don't worry. I'm not going to tell anybody."

Walking over to Chloe, Oliver smiled and said, "Hey, let's just stick to the main plot there, sidekick. So, what do you got?"

"Hopefully a solid lead on Bart – where are Victor and A.C.?" Chloe asked as Oliver hung his head in disbelief and the other two came in from the next room.

"Guess we're not too great at the whole "secret" part of this yet," Victor commented.

"Yeah," Chloe agreed. "But, you're great at getting caught by the villain."

Both Victor and A.C. flinched at Chloe's statement, because while it was true that they'd both been caught by Lex at different times, it didn't stop the comment from stinging.

"Anyway, I think Bart is being held at a place called the Ridge Facility."

"That's down by the docks," A.C. commented.

"You're sure?" Oliver asked.

"Sure enough that Clark is already on his way," Chloe said. "While I had my feelers out gathering LuthorCorp intel on another matter, I shook loose some internal documents and in the last few days there's been a flurry of equipment transfers to the Ridge Facility."

"Doesn't LuthorCorp move equipment all the time?" Victor asked.

"This isn't a couple of forklifts, Victor," Chloe said, before elaborating, "Half a ton of lead shielding, electrical pressure plates, and more than $20 million worth of equipment to measure high-velocity particles."

"That definitely sounds like a good place to look for Bart," A.C. said. "You don't get much more high-velocity than him."

Oliver nodded and turned as he brought up a schematic of the Ridge Facility. "It is on our list of possible 33.1 targets. All right, boys. You know the drill. Let's gear up and head out."

Looking over the schematic, one particular feature caught Chloe's eye and she gasped and said, "Oh no."

A concerned look on his face, Oliver asked, "What now?"

"Lead shielding," Chloe said as she pointed to a room on the schematic that was labeled "M12 Refinement." "This isn't just for Bart – I think the Ridge Facility is being used to refine meteor rocks. Clark is in trouble."

Oliver scoffed and said, "How could Clark be in trouble? I've seen his abilities, he's practically invulnerable."

"Practically yes," Chloe agreed. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't have a weakness."

"Weakness?" A.C. asked.

"Yeah," Chloe confirmed. "Different colors of meteor rock affect him in different ways but the most common color, as near as we can tell, is unfortunately green."

"What does green do?" Victor asked.

All eyes were on Chloe and she was glad to see that all three of the guys in the room looked concerned. It was in that moment that she realized that they could be trusted with Clark's secret. She had certainly been a little shocked when he'd told her at the Daily Planet offices that he'd let it slip, but now she wasn't worried as much as she had been. "Green can hurt him – actually, it can kill him, if he's exposed to it for too long."

Oliver felt like someone had just punched him in the gut as the worry quickly filled every fiber of his being. He loved Clark, after all, and even though the brunet had no idea what the blond's true feelings were, that didn't stop Oliver from being sick about the thought of losing the brunet forever. Oliver had played the scenario in his head that he'd told Clark the truth about how he felt and the brunet was angry and cut him out of his life completely and while it hurt, Oliver could deal with it – but to lose him to death? No, that was not going to happen. At least not if Oliver had anything to say about it – and he was damn well going to make sure that Clark did not die, even if he had to give his own life to save the brunet's.

Finding his voice, a confidence and fearlessness in it that he did not feel, Oliver said, "Well, then there's no time to waste. Boys, it seems we've got two people to go rescue. Let's go."

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, at the Ridge Facility, Clark came across a door that said "Restricted" on it and naturally assumed that it must be where Bart was being held. Opening the door, Clark quickly entered and was immediately hit with intense pain. Looking around at all the vials and jars of refined kryptonite, Clark thought, "Oh damn," as he collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain.

-o-0-o-

Awhile later, two LuthorCorp guards on patrol soon found themselves losing consciousness as an arrow embedded itself in a nearby wall and emitted a think cloud of green gas.

"Green Arrow to Watchtower," Oliver said over his comm. link. "We're in position."

Back at the penthouse, Chloe was studying the schematics of the facility and nodded as she said, "Okay, there should be a security access panel near the east door. According to this schematic you need to very carefully rewire the sys..."

"Or... I could just jack in and shut the whole perimeter down," Victor said, as he ripped the front panel off the security box.

Obviously surprised, Chloe asked, "You can do that?"

"Queen Industries upgrade," Victor replied. Looking to Oliver, who nodded, Victor grabbed one of the wires and plugged it into his forearm, as his eyes glowed red for a second and showed what looked like a computer display.

"Accessing perimeter security," Victor said. A minute later, he added, "Perimeter neutralized."

Speaking into his comm. link, Oliver said, "Aquaman, you're up."

-o-0-o-

Swimming across the water near the docks at a speed that no human could ever even hope to match, A.C. was soon inside the facility. Climbing up a nearby ladder, he said, "Perimeter breached - proceeding to target."

-o-0-o-

After Victor kicked in a very large steel door, he and Oliver headed into the facility. Of course, Oliver couldn't resist commenting, "You'd make one hell of a can opener."

"You'd look good on a bag of green beans," Victor retorted.

Talking over the comm. link, Oliver asked, "All right, we're in - which way?"

"The refinement vault is about 100 meters southwest," Chloe answered over the comm. link and then worriedly added, "Still no word from Clark."

Starting to walk in the direction of the refinement vault, Victor said, "If he's in there, we'll get him out. Let's go."

Oliver grabbed Victor's arm to get his attention and said, "You've got a different mission."

Nodding, Victor said, "You're the boss, Robin Hood," before running off in another direction.

Not understanding what was going on, Chloe asked, "Wait, what mission? What are you doing?"

Oliver doesn't answer her, however, because at that moment he comes across two LuthorCorp security guards and after a brief fight, they're soon out cold on the ground. Having heard the fighting, a worried Chloe asked, "Watchtower to Green Arrow. What's your status?"

"Switching to silent running, stand by for instructions," Oliver said as he turned off the comm. link to the penthouse, leaving only the link to his team members in the facility open. "Aquaman, do your thing."

-o-0-o-

Entering the refinement vault, a LuthorCorp security guard is shocked to find someone in it and pointed his weapon at Clark, who looked up him helplessly. "Hey! You're not supposed to be in here!"

"Neither am I," a deep voice said from behind and Clark watched as the guard fell to the ground with an arrow in his back.

Quickly getting over to Clark, Oliver helped the younger man up and struggled to hold him up. Having been exposed to so much kryptonite, Clark was very weak and unsteady on his feet. As he stumbled out of the room with Oliver supporting him, Clark swayed on his feet causing Oliver's side to hit the vault's door frame hard, but he didn't care about that. All he cared about was getting the man he loved out of harm's way. Getting Clark out of the vault and closing the door, he asked, "Are you okay?"

Clark was doubled over slightly, with his hands on his knees as he took a moment to recover, but he nodded and said, "I'm all right."

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked and Clark nodded again. Reopening the comm. link to the penthouse, Oliver said, "Green Arrow to Watchtower. Boy Scout is out of the woods."

Hearing that, Chloe sighed a sigh of relief and sent a silent "thank you" up to whatever higher power might be listening.

Following Oliver down the corridor, Clark asked, "Boy Scout?"

"If you hadn't run off all half-cocked – you could have picked you own code name," Oliver said. "You don't want to play for the team, that's fine – just be smart about it."

"Point taken," Clark said. He said it a bit more forcefully than perhaps was necessary, but he really didn't want it to show in his voice that the blond's comments really got to him. Of course, that's because he didn't understand why they did. All he knew was that whenever the blond got angry with him, Clark really didn't like it and wanted nothing more than to make the older man happy and not angry with him. "Where's Bart?"

"Impulse," Oliver corrected, before he added, "He didn't get to pick his own code name either."

Turning around to face Clark, Oliver handed him a comm. link and said, "Watchtower will guide you to where he's probably being held."

As the blond started to run down the corridor, Clark shouted after him, "What are you gonna be doing?"

Switching on his voice distorter, Oliver smiled and said, "What I do best," before taking off down the corridor.

Putting the microphone in his ear, Clark heard Chloe say, "Watchtower to Boy Scout. Let's find Impulse."

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, in another area of the facility, Victor asked over his comm. link, "Cyborg to Aquaman, where the hell are you, fish stick?"

Opening the door to a large control room, where all the guards have been knocked out, A.C. asked, "Dude, what took you so long?"

Looking around at all the unconscious guards, Victor said, "Nice." Of course, it was then that he looked at A.C. and added, "But, please, put a shirt on."

Grinning, A.C. said, "I swim faster when I'm naked."

Heading over to one of the control panels, Victor commented, "I'll bet you do."

The grin still plastered on his face, A.C. said, "You're just lucky I still have my pants on," before he started to put his shirt back on and Victor plugged himself into the mainframe and pulled up a schematic of the building.

-o-0-o-

Finally having found Bart, running around a large circular chamber, Clark observed him for a second to get a handle on the younger man's trajectory, before super speeding towards the chamber and crashing through it, landing on the other side with Bart in his arms. Behind them, the whole chamber exploded as Clark asked, "Bart, you okay?"

Bart smiled at Clark and said, "Muy bueno, amigo."

Heading out of the room towards the meeting point, Clark asked, "Can you super speed?"

Bart nodded and said, "Yeah, I just," panting for a second, "I need a minute to catch my breath."

At that moment, Oliver showed up and said, "You know what? You're gonna have to catch it later." And then speaking into his comm. link, he said, "Aquaman, Cyborg – rendezvous alpha confirmed."

"We're on the move," came Cyborg's voice over the link.

"Watchtower, have all of Luthor's people cleared the building," Oliver asked.

Looking at the schematic back at the penthouse, Chloe nodded and said, "The last heat signatures are moving away from the North."

A confused look on his face, Clark said, "Wait a second, what are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Oliver asked. "Do you want more of your friends to end up in here?"

"Yeah, I'm voting no on that one," Bart said.

"Watchtower, are you sure everyone is out of the building?" Clark asked.

"100% positive," Chloe confirmed.

Looking at Oliver for a moment, carefully considering the blond, Clark made up his mind and said, "All right. Let's do it."

Oliver and Bart nodded and Clark followed them out of the building. Once they were clear, Oliver reached a hand into his pocket to grab the detonator which would trigger the explosive charges he'd set, but it didn't take long for him to realize that it was broken.

"Damn it," Oliver said.

"What's wrong?" Bart asked.

"The detonator is broken," Oliver said and then remembering what happened when he rescued Clark, he looked at the brunet and said, "When I collided with the door frame getting you out of the vault, it must have gotten crushed. It's not going to work."

"I can speed in and set them off," Bart volunteered.

Shaking his head, Clark immediately nixed that idea. "No, Impulse. You may be fast, but explosions are still going to hurt you if you get caught in them. I'll go."

"What?" Oliver asked. He didn't really like the idea of Clark going into that building to set off the charges manually.

"I'll be fine," Clark assured Oliver and Bart. "I'm fast and invulnerable – the explosions won't affect me - now both of you get clear."

Clark didn't give either of them a chance to argue, as he super sped back into the building. Oliver just stood there in shock. He couldn't believe that Clark had done that. Seeing that the older man wasn't moving and knowing they were still standing a little too close to a building that was about to explode, Bart grabbed him and dragged him away.

Meeting up with Victor and A.C. a safe distance away, Victor looked around and asked, "Where's Kent?"

"The detonator broke," Bart explained. "He went in to trigger the charges manually."

At that moment, a loud bang could be heard as the whole building exploded in an inferno of flames. The four costumed men just stood there looking at the burning building and hoping that their friend was okay. In the backs of their minds, they knew that he was invulnerable, but that still didn't stop the worry from creeping up as they watched the building burn.

"Where are you, Clark?" Oliver thought to himself. "Damn it, get out here – I can't lose you!"

A breeze soon blew past them all and Clark came to a stop behind them. "Don't look so worried, guys, I'm right here."

Oliver, Victor, Bart, and A.C. quickly turned around and saw that Clark was indeed standing right behind them. His clothes looked worse for the wear, as they were covered in black soot and there were several places where you could see his bare flesh as the flames had burnt through the material, but otherwise he looked perfectly fine.

"You okay, Kent?" Victor said.

Smiling, Clark nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." Looking down at his clothes, he added, "My clothes have probably seen better days, but then they're flammable, unlike the rest of me."

"I can't believe you just went running into a building to manually set off the charges to blow it up," A.C. said. "I mean running through flames?"

Clark shrugged and said, "Ah that was nothing and at least I still have my clothes, as damaged as they are."

Cocking his head, Bart commented, "Something tells me there's a story there, amigo."

Clark smiled and said, "Suffice it to say that I once found myself getting thrown into an incinerator. I got out unharmed, but my clothes weren't so lucky – there was nothing left but ashes."

"So you were..." Victor started to say but decided not to finish the sentence.

"Completely naked?" Clark asked, as he blushed, and Victor nodded. "Yeah."

Oliver couldn't help but wish that he'd been there to see that. Clark naked? He'd gladly pay money to see that.

Nothing else was said as the five men walked away from the burning building, as the sirens of the approaching Metropolis Fire Department could be heard in the distance.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, inside the burning building, a figure stood and walked out of the flames. His clothes weren't as lucky and he was completely naked. However, that certainly didn't bother him. Green eyes glowing red for the slightest second, the young man, who was a dead ringer for Clark Kent, super sped off into the night and went to the nearest men's clothing store, which he quickly broke into and relieved them of some of their stock – without paying for it, of course.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2

Justice Retold

By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to the television show Smallville are the property of its creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured on the show.

Author's Note: This version of the story has been edited for posting on this site. If you'd like to read the story in its entirety, including the steamier parts, it's posted on my eFiction archives, the links to which are in my profile.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Two

-o-0-o-

Walking into the main room of his penthouse from one of the side rooms, Oliver had his cell phone to his ear, talking to his pilot. "Have the jet fueled and ready. I want to be in the air as soon as possible."

Ending his call, Oliver looked up as the elevator opened and Lois walked in, pulling a large suitcase behind her.

"Hey. I hope your bird has some serious lift, 'cause this thing weighs a ton," Lois said. Looking around she can't help but notice that none of Oliver's luggage is visible, so she asked, "Aren't you packed yet? Where's your stuff?"

"Lois, um..." Oliver started, not quite sure what to say. Not that Lois allowed him to finish his thought anyway.

"Don't even think about saying what I think you're gonna say," Lois warned him.

Oliver hated hurting her. While it was true that he was head over heals in love with Clark, that didn't mean he didn't love Lois – because he did. Of course, he would have preferred to be dating Clark for the last several months, but since Clark was so obviously straight, the blond figured Lois would work as a distraction. That's what she started out as, at least, but he honestly did fall in love with her along the way – it's just that Clark had a much bigger piece of his heart.

A truly regretful look on his face, Oliver said, "I'm sorry. I, um, I have to go away on business."

"Postpone it."

"It's not that simple."

"Why? Why isn't it that simple, Ollie?" Lois asked, truly not understanding. "I mean last time I checked you're the CEO of Queen Industries. Hell, you own over 70% of the stock. You're not going to get into trouble if you take a week off to go on vacation with your girlfriend every now and then!"

Lois certainly had some valid points. As CEO and majority stockholder, there was nobody at Queen Industries that he could get into trouble with for taking a week off for a vacation. Even if he wasn't the majority stockholder, the entire board of directors loved him just as much as they loved his father and Oliver knew that short of running the company into bankruptcy there was nothing he could do to make them fire him. Of course, what Lois didn't know was that the business he had to go out of town for was not for Queen Industries. But, how could she possibly know that? He didn't trust her enough to tell her that he was the Green Arrow. Who could really blame him though? Considering that she was always talking about wanting to send the Green Arrow to prison?

"I'm sorry, Lois. I can't go to Monte Carlo with you," Oliver said. "I really wanted to, but I just can't. There are more important things in this world than what I want... and what I love. I hope someday I can explain why."

"Don't expect me to be waiting around for that when you get back."

"I'm not coming back, Lois, at least not anytime soon. I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

Lois looked at Oliver with a very sad look on her face as she said, "Well, you finally got around to it anyway, didn't you? We're through, Ollie. I can't be with a man who seems to never have time for me and makes plans, only to break them at the last second. I loved you, Ollie, I really did – but it's clear to me that we're no good together."

Grabbing her suitcase, Lois dragged it back towards the elevator and prepared to leave. Opening the gate, she turned back to look at the blond and said, "I hope someday you find the right person for you and that you treat them a whole lot better than you've treated me."

With that, Lois pulled her suitcase into the elevator, closed the gate, and left Oliver's life. It probably sounded bad, but only a small part of him was upset over the breakup. He certainly had enjoyed his time with Lois and he loved her. But the love he felt for her was only a very small fraction of what he felt for Clark. Too bad the younger man would never know.

-o-0-o-

Half-an-hour later, Oliver closed his cell phone and said, "Well, according to the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, they're going to run with the story that a gas explosion destroyed the "vacant" LuthorCorp building down by the docks."

"Vacant? Looks like the Luthor cover-up machine is in full swing," a familiar voice said.

Turning towards the open balcony doors, which were not open a second ago, Oliver, Bart, Victor, and A.C. were shocked to see Clark standing there – wearing a pair of tight black jeans, a hunter green t-shirt, and a black leather jacket.

"Clark?" Victor asked.

"Hi can-opener," Clark said with a smile, greatly surprising Victor.

"What's with the clothes?" A.C. asked.

"What don't you like them, fish stick?"

"No, they look great on you, space cadet," A.C. retorted. If Clark was going to resort to the fish jokes, than A.C. was sure as hell going to resort to the space alien jokes. "We're just so used to seeing you wearing blue and red."

"Those colors are so overrated," Clark said with a scowl. "I don't know where my head was. Honestly, I think I need to have it examined. Too bad I can't get an MRI – I don't think the doctors would understand what they were seeing."

"Are you okay, amigo?" Bart asked.

"I'm great, speedy," Clark said. "Why?"

"Well, you're just not really acting like yourself," Oliver said.

"Well, Robin Hood, I almost died in that vault before you rescued me – thanks by the way. Anyway, before your sexy self showed up I honestly thought I was a dead man. Gave me time to rethink some things and I realized I was too uptight, so I vowed that if I lived through that, I'd loosen up."

"Did he just call me sexy?" Oliver thought to himself. Clark must have noticed the look on his face, because he soon walked over to the blond – stepping right up into his personal space.

Whispering in Oliver's ear, Clark said, "Yes, I did call you, "sexy". You are you know – I must have been crazy not to realize it before now." And as if that didn't totally shock Oliver – and thrill him at the same time – Clark then threw his arms around him and dipped him backwards into a passionate kiss. Letting the blond up, Clark grinned at him and said, for the whole room to hear, "That was for saving my life."

"Um, Clark, if I ever save your life, a hand shake will suffice," Victor said.

"And that's all you'll get, Vic," Clark said. "Sorry, but you're just not my type."

"And what is your type, amigo?" Bart asked, obviously amused.

"Sexy blonds," Clark answered immediately and noticing the slightly scared look on A.C.'s face, Clark added, "with fetishes for green leather and arrows."

Oliver's eyes almost bugged out of his head at that statement. What was up with Clark all of a sudden? Oliver could understand the whole "I almost died and did a lot of rethinking my life" logic. For the briefest period of time after he'd been shot saving that couple from a carjacking just before Thanksgiving, he'd found himself in the same position, until he remembered the RL65 and dragged himself home for an injection. Oliver just prayed that Clark was being serious when he made the green leather and arrows comment. The kiss seemed pretty serious, true, but he'd have to make sure. Just not right now. The team had important business to discuss right now.

Seeing that Oliver seemed to be at a loss for words following Clark's comment, Victor decided that maybe a change of subject was in order. "Well, LuthorCorp may be trying to save face, but at least we got Bart out before Lex ran him into an early grave."

Bart scoffed. "Come on – no worries. I had plenty of juice left."

Victor raised an eyebrow and said, "Could have fooled me the way you cleaned out Ollie's fridge."

"That's 'cause I like to stay fueled up," Bart said in his defense.

"So, Impulse, Cyborg, Aquaman, Green Arrow – what do you guys call your team?" Clark asked.

"I don't know. I've been thinking we need something cool. We need something like, uh –- like, uh-"

Deciding to save Bart from straining his brain too hard, Oliver said, "I was thinking of something with the word "Justice" in it. After all, that's what Lex is gonna get a big dose of. Victor and A.C. were able to hack into the 33.1 mainframe before we blew the building."

"So that was your other mission," Clark said with a grin. "What did you guys find out?"

"That Lex isn't satisfied playing in his own backyard anymore," A.C. added with a grim look on his face.

"LuthorCorp is starting up divisions of 33.1 all across the globe," Oliver revealed. "Wherever there's evidence of people with abilities, there'll be laboratories to do experiments on them."

"We can't let that happen," Clark said.

Oliver nodded and said, "We won't. Gentlemen, our first target is a large facility on the island of Corto Maltese. You guys know the drill. Wheels up in 30 minutes – get your gear."

Turning to look at Clark, Bart asked, "You coming, amigo?"

"Yeah, you got to come with us, man." A.C. said.

Victor nodded. "We could use the big guns."

Oliver looked at Clark and prayed with every fiber of his being that the brunet would agree to go with them. "They're right you know. You'd be a major asset to the team."

"I want to be a part of this guys," Clark said. "I really do."

"But..." Oliver said, sure that there was a but coming.

"No buts," Clark said with a grin, as he quickly ducked out of the penthouse and onto Oliver's balcony before re-appearing – with a black duffel bag over his shoulder. "You think I'm going to let you guys run off and have all the fun?"

Oliver was certainly pleased that Clark wanted to come, but before he could stop himself, he asked, "What about that other problem?"

"What you mean the zoners?" Clark asked and noticing the questioning looks on everyone's faces, he elaborated. "The criminals are escapees of the Phantom Zone – but as Chloe pointed out – "escaped super-criminals from the Phantom Zone" is a bit of a mouthful, so we just call them zoners for short."

"Am I missing something, amigo?" Bart asked with a confused look on his face – after all, he was rather busy running around in circles earlier when the others learned the truth about Clark's origins.

"Oh, that's right you weren't here," Clark said. "I'm not from this planet, speedy. I did grow up here, but I wasn't born here. My home planet, Krypton, was on the verge of total annihilation, so my biological parents put me in a ship and sent me here to save me. My ship crashed in a field during the meteor shower in the 80's. The Kents found me and raised me as their own. As for the zoners, I accidentally released them from prison and since my biological father, Jor-El, was responsible for putting them there they want revenge, but he's dead, so I'm the next best thing."

"Wow," was all Bart could say.

Oliver said. "So what about that problem?"

Looking at Oliver, Clark said, "You once accused me of waiting for trouble to show up at my doorstep. Well, this is me going out and confronting the trouble before it does. The way I see it, I can stay here in Kansas and bale hay while looking for the zoners or I can go with you guys and help stop 33.1 while looking for the zoners. Personally, I think I like the latter option better. So, handsome, if you're done trying to change my mind, I have a question."

"Shoot," Oliver said, confident that he kept his cool, even though he felt like he was floating miles above the ground when Clark called him handsome. Maybe there was hope for the two of them after all.

"You said wheels up in 30 minutes," Clark said and Oliver nodded. "I assume you're referring to your jet." Again Oliver nodded. "The Queen Industries company jet?"

"Yes, why?" Oliver asked.

"And we're actually going to land on Corto Maltese?" Clark asked.

"Well, that is where our first target is," A.C. said, "so, yeah that was the plan."

"And does Queen Industries have any offices or subsidiaries on Corto Maltese?" Clark asked.

"No," Oliver said. Perhaps if his mind wasn't racing from all the comments that Clark had made since arriving, he might have been able to understand where Clark was going with these questions.

"Bad plan." Clark said.

"Why?" Victor asked.

"Think about it," Clark said. "All of Lex's 33.1 labs start getting attacked. How long do you think it'll take him to start investigating? Trying to find similarities? If he does too much digging, do we really want him to notice that the Queen Industries jet keeps landing in the same location as his 33.1 labs, right before they're wiped off the map?"

Silence filled the room for a moment. It was Bart who finally broke the silence, as he nodded and said, "You know, I think my amigo has a point. We've underestimated baldie in the past and it's gotten us in trouble."

"True," Victor said. "So, what alternative would you suggest, Clark?"

"Well, Corto Maltese is near Italy, correct?" Clark asked and Oliver nodded. "Well, then I suggest we land somewhere in Italy. Rome or Venice or something and then find alternate transportation to Corto Maltese. I've seen Bart run across water, so he certainly would have no problem and A.C. could easily swim there."

"That's true," A.C. said. "What about Victor and Ollie, though?"

"Well, I'm sure I'm strong enough to hold onto them and fly them over," Clark said with a grin.

"Did you just say fly?" Victor asked.

"Yeah, I did," Clark said. "Did I forget to mention that flying is one of my abilities?" To prove his point, Clark rose about a foot off the ground.

"You truly are amazing, Clark Kent," Oliver said with a smile, as he pulled out his cell phone. "Anyway, you're right. I'll call my pilot and change the flight plan from Corto Maltese to Rome. Unlike Corto Maltese, Queen Industries has holdings in Rome, so for me to go there shouldn't look all that suspicious and it's far enough away that I doubt Lex would connect me to the Corto Maltese facility's destruction."

"Well, now, aren't you glad I'm coming along?" Clark asked with a smug look on his face. "I'm already saving you guys from making a stupid mistake."

While this new much more open and laid back Clark was certainly a lot to take in, Oliver found that he couldn't really dislike him. He might be different from the Clark he fell in love with, but it was still Clark and better yet, this Clark didn't seem so obviously straight – giving the blond hope that maybe he might actually have a chance with the brunet.

-o-0-o-

Later that evening, Clark was sitting alone in the loft, tossing a ball against a nearby wall. He'd stopped by Oliver's penthouse earlier to find it deserted. He tried getting in touch with the blond, but none of his messages went through. Talking to Oliver's assistant at Queen Industries had also been a complete waste of time because all she would tell him is that Mr. Queen had left Metropolis and was not expected back anytime soon. She adamantly refused to give any more details than that, so Clark made his way back to the farm.

He honestly didn't know why, but the fact that the blond and the others had left without even so much as a phone call to say goodbye, really made him sad. But, what confused him the most was that he wasn't nearly as upset about the fact that Bart, Victor, and A.C. didn't say goodbye. No what really hurt was the fact that Oliver had left without saying goodbye. What was it about the blond man that had such an effect on him? Clark had asked himself that question more times than he could count, but he just could not come up with an answer.

Clark knew that if he really wanted to find Oliver, he could. Chloe could probably very easily find out what Oliver's flight plan had been when he left Metropolis, but Clark decided not to go looking for the blond. He had thought they were friends, but maybe the friendship didn't mean as much to Oliver as it meant to him. If the blond really valued their friendship, he would have at least called to say goodbye right? Instead, nothing – Oliver had just packed up and left without a word. Clark just wished he could figure out why that hurt so much.

-o-0-o-

Touching down in Rome, Italy at around midnight Roman time, everyone decided to head for a hotel and get some rest, as none of them had been able to sleep on the jet – mainly because everyone was interested in hearing more about Clark's origins and had asked him every question under the sun.

Pulling up in front of one of the best hotels in the city, everyone got out of the limousine that had brought them from the airport and Oliver handed Clark a bank card.

Looking at the card, Clark was rather shocked to see that it had his name on it. "What's this?" he asked.

"Well, you're part of the team now," Oliver said with a smile. "All the guys have one. It's connected to the expense account I setup for the team."

"Thanks," Clark said with a smile as he reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and added the card to it.

"Why don't you go check us in?" Oliver asked. "The rest of us will get the luggage."

"Sure," Clark said with a smile and headed into the hotel.

Walking up to the front desk, the clerk asked, "Can I help you?" Of course, the only real problem was that she had said it in Italian and Clark didn't know Italian.

"Do you happen to speak English?" Clark asked with a hopeful look.

"Yes, sir, I do," the clerk said, this time in English. It didn't sound quite as comfortable as her native language, but it was understandable at least.

"Well, some friends and I need to check in," Clark said. "Do you have any vacancies?"

"Well, we have several conventions in town right now," the clerk said as she checked the computer. "However, we do have three rooms available - one with a single bed, one with two queen beds, and a suite with a king bed."

Pulling out the bank card that Oliver had just given him, Clark said, "I'll take all three of them."

Nodding, the clerk accepted the card, and after a few minutes she smiled, as she handed the card back to Clark. "I hope you enjoy your stay, Mr. Kent. How many room keys will you require?"

"One for the single room and two each for the other two," Clark answered and again the clerk nodded before handing him the card keys, which were marked with the room numbers. Turning away from the front desk, Clark headed over to the entrance, where the others had just entered.

"We all checked in, amigo?" Bart asked.

Clark nodded. "Yeah, we got their last three rooms." Holding the card keys for the single room and the room with two beds in Victor, Bart, and A.C.'s direction, Clark said, "You three can argue which of you gets the single and who'll be sharing the double. Ollie and I will be in the other room."

Oliver couldn't help but smile when he found out that the brunet wanted to share a hotel room with him. Of course, he didn't know yet that the room he'd be sharing with the younger man only had one bed. It was quickly decided that Victor would get the single room and A.C. would share with Bart – to keep an eye on the impulsive younger man. He was a little upset that the others felt he needed a babysitter, but, he quickly got over it. It's not like A.C. stood a chance of catching up with him if he really wanted to give him the slip.

Heading up to their rooms, the team all said goodnight to one another and agreed to meet up in Clark and Oliver's suite at noon for lunch and a team meeting. Entering their room, Clark super-sped into the bedroom and smiled when he saw the large bed. Putting his duffel bag down, Clark hid behind the door, waiting for Oliver to come in. He didn't have to wait long. The blond soon entered the room and to say he was shocked to only see one bed would be an understatement. Oliver set his luggage down and not seeing Clark, he asked, "Clark?"

The sound of the door closing made Oliver turn around and that's when he saw Clark standing there. Before Oliver could say anything, the brunet advanced on him and for the second time that day was in the blond's personal space.

"Finally, we're alone," Clark said as he wrapped his arms around the blond's waist. "Don't get me wrong, the other guys are great and I agree the whole 33.1 thing must stop, but you want to know the real reason I joined this team?"

Not able to find his voice, Oliver just nodded.

"You," the brunet said.

"Me?" Oliver asked, finally finding his voice.

Clark grinned as he removed one of his hands from the blond's waist. Putting it between them as he grabbed the blond's crotch, Clark was pleased to find the older man was rock hard. "If Ollie Jr.'s reaction is anything to go by, you definitely don't find this uncomfortable."

"No, I don't," Oliver said.

"I'd really like to kiss you now," Clark said. "That okay?"

Instead of answering the brunet, Oliver just smiled and leaned in, bringing their lips together. It was the second time that day that they kissed and just like the first time, Oliver felt like every single nerve in his body was on fire. The sensations and the passion that the younger man stirred in him were beyond what the blond's vocabulary could adequately describe. Wrapping his arms around the younger man's waist, Oliver pulled him closer and shuddered as he felt Clark's erection brushing pressing up against his own.

When the need for air finally forced them to part, Oliver rested his head against the younger man's and said, "Lois and I broke up."

"I can't say as I'm upset to hear that," Clark said, "because I'd much rather you be free to be with me, but let's not talk about her right now, okay?"

"Okay," Oliver said. "Then what would you like to talk about?"

"Nothing," Clark said. "I can think of things to do that are much more fun than talking."

"Oh really?" The blond asked as he raised an eyebrow. If this was a dream, he didn't ever want to wake up.

"Yes, but we're both wearing far too much clothing," Clark commented. "Of course, I can fix that."

Before Oliver could even blink both he and Clark were completely naked and he found himself getting pushed down onto the bed by a very enthusiastic brunet. Lying down on top of the blond, they both moaned in pleasure at the feel of full body skin to skin contact. Capturing the blond's lips, Clark initiated what Oliver was sure had to be the most passionate kiss he'd ever had in his entire life. Tongues were soon battling, as they eagerly explored every crevice of the other's mouth.

The kissing did not stop when the need for air separated them. Kissing his way down the side of the blond's face, Clark was soon trailing kisses across the older man's left collarbone and down his chest. Oliver moaned as Clark reached his left nipple and swirled his tongue around on it, before he very lightly bit down on it. Oliver was sure that he'd just found heaven on Earth and he never wanted the sensations he was feeling to end – nor for the person causing them to stop. Continuing to kiss his way ever lower, Clark paused to kiss each of the blond's six-pack abs, in addition to laving his tongue over each gorgeous section, before continuing his descent.

Much to Oliver's combined pleasure and displeasure, the younger man completely ignored his straining cock, as he kissed and licked his way down the blond's right leg, all the way down to his toes, before he moved over and began kissing and licking his way back up the blond's left leg. Nearing the older man's member, Clark ignored it for a little bit longer, as he paid special attention to the blond's inner thighs, before finally he placed his tongue at the base of the older man's penis and licked it from base to tip and back – causing Oliver to moan loudly, as the waves of pleasure swept over him.

Finally breaking their kiss, Clark looked down at the blond with a lascivious gaze, his green eyes burning with lust, and asked, "Did you enjoy that, lover?"

Struggling to catch his breath, Oliver nodded and said, "Hell yes."

Clark smiled and said, "Good, because that's only the beginning." Planting a quick kiss on the blond, Clark said, "I'll be right back."

Though the contact of their naked flesh was only broken for a split second thanks to Clark's super-speed, Oliver found himself thoroughly missing the younger man's body pressed up against his own and sighed happily as the contact was restored. Kissing the blond briefly, Clark soon pushed Oliver's legs apart and kneeled between them as he popped open the top of a bottle of lubricant.

Pulling back the covers and getting into bed, Oliver sighed contentedly as he lie on his side and felt Clark coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around him securely. Their bodies fit together like two pieces of the same puzzle and Oliver had never been happier in his entire life. Exhausted from the long flight and their recent activities, Oliver could feel sleep overtaking him, and whispered, "I love you, Clark.

"Love you too, Ollie," Clark said as he tightened his hold on the blond and the two drifted off to sleep.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.


	3. Chapter 3

Justice Retold

By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to the television show Smallville are the property of its creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured on the show.

Author's Note: This version of the story has been edited for posting on this site. If you'd like to read the story in its entirety, including the steamier parts, it's posted on my eFiction archives, the links to which are in my profile.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Three

-o-0-o-

By the next day, Clark was obviously depressed and needed a distraction from his thoughts which never seemed to stray from a certain blond and the pain of said blond's apparent rejection. His various farm chores were taking a lot longer than normal to complete, because Clark was desperately trying to keep his mind off of the blond billionaire and hoped that doing his chores the normal way would occupy his mind enough that he wouldn't have time to think. It wasn't working all that well.

No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get Oliver out of his head. He couldn't understand why he was so upset that the blond had just up and left without a word. True, he considered Oliver a friend, but he hadn't known him all that long. Clark had lost touch with friends before and he didn't feel this way. Just look at his relationship with Pete Ross – they'd been friends since before the first grade and while it hurt that he hadn't heard a word from Pete since he left at the end of junior year, he certainly wasn't anywhere near as broken up about it as he was with Oliver. Of course, one distinct difference with that was that Pete had said goodbye and Oliver hadn't. Clark honestly wasn't sure if it was simply a lack of closure that had him so upset or if it was something more and that's what not only confused him, but scared him as well.

The Kansas State Senate was in recess at the moment, so, Martha Kent had returned to Smallville to spend time with Clark. To say she was worried about him would be the understatement of the century. She could tell that something was obviously wrong with him the night before when she offered him a large piece of her apple pie after dinner and he just said "No, thanks," and retreated to his loft without another word. Martha knew her son very well and for him to turn down pie meant that something was very wrong. Normally, she would have gone out to the barn to try and figure out what it was, but something in his expression told her that Clark was dealing with something that he needed some time to sort through on his own and that he would tell her when he was ready.

After a fairly restless night, because she found it very hard to fall asleep because she was engaging in the activity that mothers seem to do best, worrying about their children, Martha was tired as she made breakfast, but knew that she had to do something. Once she'd made sure that Clark had eaten and getting him to do so had been a challenge in itself, she allowed him to head outside to start his chores. Watching him from the kitchen window, she only worried more when she realized that Clark was doing all of his chores the normal way. Something was definitely off and if Clark wasn't going to tell her then she was going to have to find out some other way.

Martha had always been pretty good at reading people, especially the people closest to her, so she had a feeling that whatever it was that Clark was dealing with was something that he wasn't comfortable talking about with her. It made her kind of sad to know there was anything her son felt like he couldn't talk to her about, but, thinking back to her own youth, she knew there were quite a few topics that she never discussed with her parents. Determined to help her son though, Martha picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Sullivan," said the voice on the other end.

"Chloe, its Martha Kent."

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Kent, how's life in Topeka?"

"Busy, but I'm actually in Smallville right now," Martha answered. "Chloe, could you come over? I'm not sure what's wrong, but Clark is obviously upset about something and he's not talking to me."

"Of course, Mrs. Kent," Chloe said. "I'm always glad to help Clark. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Chloe," Martha said.

"No problem, Mrs. Kent," Chloe said as they exchanged goodbyes and hung up.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe in Rome, Italy, Oliver was thrilled when he awoke in the arms of the man he'd secretly loved for months. He had been seriously worried, to be honest, that the previous night had been a dream – it certainly wouldn't be the first time that the blond had had very explicit dreams about the brunet. The only difference was that with the dreams, the only thing he woke up to was stained sheets. He definitely wasn't about to complain about that element being replaced with Clark's arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

Feeling the brunet waking up, Oliver turned in his arms and smiled, kissing the younger man's forehead. "Morning." He said.

Clark grinned and said, "So, last night wasn't a dream."

A part of Oliver was thrilled that Clark had the same thought he did, but the other part was screaming that perhaps he should make sure that Clark was actually happy that the previous night hadn't been a dream. After all, in the light of day Clark might think that the previous night hadn't been a dream, but a nightmare. Oliver silently cursed his mind for its tendency to make him deal with the worst case scenarios when it came to emotional and romantic attachments, but it was something of a defense mechanism he'd developed since his parents died. It was part of the wall around his heart that basically insured that all of his relationships failed because deep down he was still the scared little boy that was so afraid that if he got too close to someone that he'd lose them like he did his parents.

Finding his voice, Oliver asked, "Do you wish it had been?" He hoped that he didn't sound pathetic when he asked that, but he wasn't all that confident.

Clark looked at him like he had just grown a second head and said, "What have you been smoking, Oliver? Of course I don't wish last night was only a dream. Do you?"

"No," Oliver replied quickly.

"Good, then shut up and kiss me!" Clark said, not giving the blond any choice because a fraction of a second later, the brunet's lips were on his and all the negative thoughts that his mind insisted on showing him evaporated.

-o-0-o-

Arriving at the Kent Farm, Chloe got out of her car and saw Martha sitting on the front porch. She smiled and raised a finger to point towards the barn. Chloe returned the smile and nodded, before heading over to the barn to find her best friend. Entering the barn, Chloe was shocked to see Clark putting bales of hay in the topmost hayloft. The reason it shocked her was because he was using the rope winch to hoist the bales into the loft – rather than just picking them up and throwing them up like he usually did.

"What are you doing, Clark?"

Turning his attention to Chloe, the look on his face one that clearly said, "Isn't it obvious?" Clark asked, "What does it look like I'm doing, Chloe?"

"It looks like you're doing your chores," Chloe said. "The question is why are you doing them the normal way?"

"I just felt like it," Clark said as he turned his attention back to the bale of hay he was hoisting upwards. Getting the bale up to the loft, Clark turned and prepared to grab the last of the bales, but Chloe was faster and quickly sat down on it. A frown on his face, Clark said, "Chloe, please move."

"No, Clark," Chloe said. "Not until you tell me what's wrong with you."

"Nothing's wrong with me," Clark said in an exasperated tone. "I just decided to do my chores the normal way for once. Is that a crime?"

"No, it isn't," Chloe said, "but I know you Clark Kent. I can tell just by the look in your eyes that something is wrong. Now, tell me what it is."

"Nothing's wrong," Clark said.

"Clark, you and I both know that you're lying right now," Chloe said. "So, you can save us both a lot of time and frustration by just telling me the truth now, rather than dragging it out."

Clark frowned. He really didn't know why he'd even tried to hide the truth from Chloe. His friend knew him way too well – perhaps too well for his own liking – and he really should have known better. Sitting down one of the steps that led up to his loft, Clark sighed and Chloe turned on the hay bale so that she was facing her friend, an expectant look on her face.

"Oliver and his team left," Clark said.

"They did?" Chloe asked. This was news to her.

"Yeah, they did," Clark said. "I have no idea where they went or what they're doing, though I expect it has something to do with 33.1. It's just a phone call would have been nice."

"So, you're upset they didn't call and say goodbye?" Chloe asked and Clark nodded. Looking at her best friend, she could tell there was something more to it.

"What aren't you telling me?" Chloe asked as she studied her friend closely and then it hit her. "It's Oliver, isn't it?"

Clark looked up, shocked, and asked, "What?"

"The reason you're so upset is because Oliver didn't call to say goodbye, isn't it?"

Clark shook his head and said, "That's ridiculous, Chlo."

But the look on his face told Chloe everything she needed to know. Suddenly, everything fell into place. Ever since Thanksgiving, Chloe had had a vague feeling that something was off with Clark where Oliver was concerned, but she could never put her finger on what that was – until just now.

"I don't think it is," Chloe said.

Persisting, Clark said, "Of course it is Chloe. I'm upset the entire team left without saying goodbye – why would you think I'm only upset that Oliver didn't?"

"Because you haven't known the other team members as long as you've known Oliver," Chloe rationalized. "Victor, A.C., Bart, the last time you met each of them before – they were only around a few days at most. You've known Oliver on the other hand for several months now. He's come to mean something to you hasn't he?"

"Just what is it that you're implying, Chloe?"

Looking at her best friend, a small smile on her face, Chloe asked, "You're in love with him, aren't you, Clark?"

The look on Clark's face clearly showed that he thought Chloe was certifiably insane. Maybe insanity truly did run in the family and Chloe had finally started down the same path as her mother.

"That's crazy, Chloe," Clark said. "I am not in love with Oliver."

Ignoring her friend's denial, Chloe said, "It all makes sense now. The look on your face at Thanksgiving when Lois and Oliver kissed, how sad you always seem to look whenever Lois says how happy she is with Oliver, why you seemed like you wanted to talk Lois out of going to Monte Carlo with Oliver... need I say more?"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Chloe."

"Come on, Clark. It's so obvious that you're jealous and I know you aren't jealous of Oliver because you want Lois, so that means you must be jealous of Lois because you want Oliver."

"You couldn't be more off base if you tried, Chloe," Clark said. "I am not in love with Oliver. I do not want Oliver. I don't even like Oliver!"

"Okay, stop lying Clark."

"I'm not lying!" It was obvious to Chloe, however, that Clark was lying through his teeth, whether he wanted to admit that to himself or not.

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, Clark," Chloe said.

"I am not in denial, Chloe!" Clark exclaimed. "I do not love Oliver and I am not going to stand here anymore and listen to you say something that I know is not true! For pity sake, I'm not gay! Or did you somehow miss the fact that I've been obsessed with Lana since I was five?"

Not giving his friend a chance to answer, Clark super-sped out of the barn. If he had stayed, he would have heard what Chloe's response to that had been. "Trust me, Clark, nobody with eyes could have missed that - but Lana is with Lex now. Its way past time you move on. And I never said you were gay. Try bisexual."

Sighing, Chloe headed for the house. Martha was still waiting on the porch.

"So, do you have any idea what's wrong?" She asked.

"Well, Oliver left town without saying goodbye to him," Chloe said.

"Oliver? You mean Oliver Queen?" Martha asked.

"Yeah," Chloe said. "Mrs. Kent, have you noticed anything odd there? I mean have you ever noticed that Clark seems to act oddly whenever Oliver's name is brought up?"

Thinking for a moment, Martha looked at Chloe and said, "Come to think of it, I have. You don't think?"

"Mrs. Kent, I think Clark is in love with Oliver and doesn't want to admit it," Chloe said.

Martha took a deep breath and then nodded. "I think you're probably right. My poor boy – he keeps falling for people who aren't available."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Mrs. Kent."

"Why?" Martha asked, confused. "Last time I checked Oliver is dating Lois – not to mention the fact that he's straight."

"Actually you're wrong on both counts," Chloe said and noticing the confused look on Martha's face, she said, "Lois and Oliver broke up. She told me herself. As for Oliver being straight, well, he's actually bisexual – he said so himself in an interview he did with the Star City Tribune three years ago."

"I never knew," Martha said.

"Well, that's not really surprising," Chloe said with a smile. "I doubt you get the Star City Tribune in Smallville. The only reason I know is because of my job. The Star City Tribune and the Daily Planet are owned by the same company. So you're not mad or anything?"

Confused by the question, Martha asked, "Mad? Why would I be mad that Oliver is bisexual?"

"No, I mean, you're not mad that Clark could be in love with him?"

"No," Martha said immediately. "All I ever wanted for Clark was for him to be happy. If being with Oliver or another man makes him happy, then, I don't have a problem with it."

"Well, then, I guess I'll go and track down a certain blond," Chloe said. "Give him a piece of my mind for leaving without even saying goodbye."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt, Clark," Martha said, although the tone in her voice clearly said she wasn't really trying to talk Chloe out of giving him a piece of her mind.

"Well, regardless of whether or not he meant to, he did, so he'll have to deal with me."

Smiling, Martha said, "I'm so glad my son has loyal friends like you, Chloe."

Chloe smiled and waved, before heading for her car and leaving the farm. Wherever he was, Oliver Queen had better be shaking in his boots, because he'd incurred the wrath of Chloe Sullivan – and that is reason enough to be very, very scared.

-o-0-o-

"Okay, today is the day guys," Oliver said, as he looked at his team members. "As you know, Clark and I have reconned the target and I think we're ready now to wipe it off the map."

"Cool," Bart said with a grin, as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"So you guys know the drill," Oliver said. "Gear up and let's get ready to serve up Lex some serious justice."

"What about Kent?" Victor said. "Is he just going to wear street clothes like he did at the Ridge?"

"No, Stone," Clark said. "Ollie and I took care of that. I've got a costume and a new codename to match."

"What's wrong with Boyscout?" A.C. asked.

"Well, I don't like it, Curry Powder," Clark said, and A.C. groaned at the new nickname, although, at least it wasn't fish-related. "So unless you'd like me to use my heat vision to cut you some new gills, never call me that again."

Hands held up in surrender, A.C. said, "Okay, okay, I won't call you that again. So, what's the new codename?"

Clark smiled and said, "Obsidian."

"Interesting choice," Victor said. "Where'd that idea come from?"

"My costume," Clark said, before super-speeding out of the room and returning about a minute-and-a-half later dressed in what was basically a copy of Oliver's Green Arrow costume. Except that there was no hood and other than a few small hunter green accents, the leather was completely black.

"Whoa, nice costume, amigo," Bart said with a grin.

"Do I detect a note of hero worship?" Victor asked. "I mean with a few differences you look like Robin Hood in his costume."

"How could I not worship this man?" Clark asked with a mischievous grin as he pulled Oliver in for a kiss. "He's sexy, rich, smart, romantic, and great in bed."

"Too much information!" A.C. exclaimed, as both Bart and Victor nodded in agreement.

Oliver just grinned, before wrapping his arms tightly around Clark and kissing him soundly as a thank you for the compliments. The others had been a little shocked upon learning that Clark and Oliver were now a couple, but, if they were truly honest, they weren't all that surprised. Well, at least not in Oliver's case, because they'd all seen how their leader lit up when he talked about Clark, so they all kind of guessed that the blond's feelings ran deeper than friendship. They had been more surprised in Clark's case, what with the whole Lana thing, but, as long as they were happy, none of them really cared.

After about a minute, Victor cleared his throat and Clark and Oliver broke their kiss to look at him. "Not to interrupt or anything, guys, but I think we have work to do."

Nodding, Oliver said, "You're right, can-opener. Grab your gear and we'll meet at the rendezvous point in fifteen minutes."

Everyone nodded and Victor, A.C., and Bart left the room. Just before he left, Bart grinned as Clark and Oliver went back to sucking face and said, "Don't be late now, lovebirds."

Not breaking the kiss, Clark simply stuck up his middle finger at Bart, who said, "No thank you – save that for Oliver." Thanks to his faster than Clark's super-speed, Bart was out the door and long gone before the sofa pillow that the brunet had thrown at him could find its mark.

-o-0-o-

When he left the barn, Clark didn't stop running until he found himself atop the windmill in Chandler's Field. He wasn't particularly fond of heights, but then, he figured he could deal with it because he'd be alone here. Chloe knew about his fear of heights, so he figured that his friend would never think to look for him on top of the tallest windmill in Smallville. He just couldn't believe what his friend had been saying. It was complete and utter nonsense! For Chloe to even think that he was in love with Oliver Queen was ludicrous.

He was seriously worried about Chloe, to be honest, because he couldn't help but think that maybe she finally was going crazy like her mother. He had never put much stock in the idea that insanity somehow ran in her family, but now he wasn't so sure. She had to be crazy if she thought for even a second that he was in love with Oliver. Clark just could not understand how his friend could have possibly come up with such an erroneous idea. He certainly wasn't gay; as he would have thought had been made abundantly clear by his years of mooning over Lana Lang.

Him in love with Oliver Queen? Clark just couldn't help but laugh like a mad man at that idea. There was simply no way it was true. No way at all.

-o-0-o-

Arriving on the island of Corto Maltese, Clark landed gracefully on the secluded and deserted beach that they had chosen as their rendezvous point. Letting go of Victor, but keeping his arm firmly around Oliver's waist, Clark looked around and grinned when he realized that they were the first ones here.

Ten seconds later, a red blur came into view, as Bart came to a stop, a look of genuine surprise on his face when he realized he wasn't the first one to arrive. Grinning at the younger man, Clark said, "You may run faster than me, Impulse, but it looks like I can fly faster than you."

Pouting a bit, Bart said, "Wasn't really a fair competition, amigo. I mean, you could fly in a straight line. I may be able to run fast, but I still have to dodge all the buildings and other things between here and Rome."

"Excuses, excuses," Clark said.

Grinning at the exchange, Victor said, "Well, I guess as soon as fish boy gets here we can get this party started."

Coming up out of the water and putting his shirt back on, A.C. said, "I heard that you giant trash compactor."

"Now, now, boys, let's play nice," Oliver said with a grin. "Well, at least with each other – not so much with Lex's goons."

Pulling a small handheld video screen out of a pocket, Oliver turned it on and everyone gathered around. "Okay, Aquaman, the facility has a larger sewer drain on the northeastern side – once Cyborg gets the perimeter security down, you'll enter from there." Aquaman nodded. "Impulse, I want you to enter from the western entrance and start planting the charges. Cyborg, Obsidian, and I will enter from the south and head for the central control room, download any information we can from the mainframe and destroy the security footage."

"Once that's done, we can issue the warning for all of Lex's people to clear out before we blow the building," Clark said. "We'll have given them fair warning - if they don't get out in time, well, that's their own fault."

Noticing the looks on the other's faces, Clark said, "I know, I know, that doesn't sound like something I would normally say, but, I've come to realize that despite my powers, I can't save everybody – especially those who don't want to be saved. If they choose to ignore our warning, that isn't our fault. If anything, it's their fault for being there in the first place by choosing to work for a megalomaniac like Lex."

"True," Oliver said. "All right, guys, let's move out!"

-o-0-o-

Pushing aside the gate and entering Oliver's penthouse, Clark looked around and seeing the blond, he said, "Oliver."

Looking over at the brunet, Oliver said, "Look, Clark, whatever has your tighty whities in a bunch, now is not the time."

Ignoring the blond's comment, Clark asked, "Where's Bart?" This immediately caused Oliver to look up from the papers he was reading, and Clark could tell the blond was rather shocked that Clark knew about Bart. "I saw his phone records. I know he's working for you."

Coming down the steps and walking over to his desk, Oliver said, "Not for me. Working with me. There's a difference."

"It's not gonna matter much when he ends up in jail or worse."

"Yeah, you don't know what you're talking about," Oliver said, as he sat down behind his desk.

Coming closer and looking down at the blond, Clark said, "I know how much you hate Lex. Is that why you recruited Bart – to help with your little vendetta?"

Leaning forward, Oliver said, "No, to stop 33.1."

Shock clearly etched on Clark's face, he asked, "You know about 33.1?" Oliver nodded almost imperceptibly, causing Clark to ask, "Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?"

Looking like he couldn't believe what the brunet was asking him, he asked, "Clark, do you check in with me every time you run off to save the world?"

Standing up from his desk and walking away from the younger man, Oliver said, "Oh that's right. For a second there I forgot – you like to just wait for trouble to show up on your doorstep."

Clark exclaimed, "That's not true!"

"Then why haven't you done anything to stop 33.1?"

"I was busy with another problem."

"What could possibly be more urgent than stopping 33.1, Clark?"

Remaining silent for a moment, Clark suddenly exclaimed, "This!" Entering the blond's personal space, Clark grabbed him and smashed their lips together in a passionate kiss, his tongue demanding entrance into the blond's mouth, which was soon granted as the older man wrapped his arms around Clark's waist and returned the kiss – both of them putting weeks of pent up passion for one another into it as they deepened the kiss. In fact the kiss was so deep that if anyone was watching right now, they'd probably think that the blond and brunet were conjoined twins – joined at the lips.

When the incessant need for air finally forced the two of them to part, Oliver was gasping for breath. Finally catching it, he started, "Clark, what..." but he never got to finish as the brunet put his finger over the blond's lips and shook his head.

"No talking," Clark said, as he began to plant kisses all over the blond's face. "I want you in me, Ollie... NOW!"

Nodding, Oliver grabbed Clark and began to lead him over towards his desk, as both the blond and brunet lost clothes on the way. Taking his arms off of the brunet for a moment, Oliver swept an arm over his desk and knocked everything on it to the floor, before opening his desk drawer and pulling out a bottle of lubricant.

"You keep lube in your desk drawer?" Clark asked with an amused expression, despite the passion and lust coursing through every nerve and blood vessel in his body.

"I like to be prepared," Oliver said in a low growl as he grabbed Clark in his arms and hoisted him up so that he was seated on the desk, before he began to unfasten Clark's button-fly jeans while planting kisses all over the brunet's naked chest. Getting the last button undone, Clark placed his hands on the desk and pushed himself up so that the blond could get his pants off.

Oliver pulled the brunet's jeans down and was confronted by a very lovely tent in the younger man's hunter green boxer-briefs. Clark smiled and said, "As you can see, Ollie, I don't wear tighty whities."

"Yeah, I can see that," Oliver said. "You should wear green more often – it looks good on you. It matches your eyes."

"It reminds me of you," Clark said. "So, you're the only person I want to see me wearing it. Now get your pants off already before I tear them off!"

And no sooner had he said that, did Clark jolt awake in his bed at the farm – quickly noting the sticky and stained sheets. Panting from his recent orgasm, Clark struggled to catch his breath, before whispering to himself, "What the hell was that? Why am I dreaming about having sex with Oliver?"

Pausing, Clark said, "Damn you, Chloe! Why did you have to plant that insane idea in my head?" He was one hundred percent sure that the dream was all Chloe's fault. She was the one who planted the ludicrous and completely insane idea in his head that he was in love with Oliver. It simply was not true! He did not love Oliver. He couldn't. He didn't swing that way, never had, and never would. The small part of his mind that tried to point out that straight men don't have erotic dreams about other men just because someone told them they were in love with one was quickly silenced, as Clark got out of bed and pulled on a pair of boxers.

He just prayed that when he shouted Oliver's name, it had only been in the dream and not in reality – the last thing he needed was for his mother to have heard that.

-o-0-o-

The destruction of the Corto Maltese 33.1 facility had gone off without a hitch. All of Luthor's people exited the building in a timely fashion after hearing the warning and minutes later the building was consumed in an inferno of flames as it blew sky high. Shortly afterward, the team of five were back on the secluded beach they'd arrived on, quickly congratulating each other, before A.C. dove into the water, Bart took off running across it, and Clark grabbed Oliver and Victor and rocketed up into the sky, all on their way back to Rome.

Arriving in their suite, Clark pushed down the blond's green hood and both men removed their sunglasses and set them aside, before they sealed their mouths together in a celebratory kiss. The information they'd gotten from the Ridge Facility's computer had certainly been helpful, but the Corto Maltese facility's information was a gold mine. They knew that from this point on they'd have to take any further information they took from the computers of future facilities with a grain of salt – as Lex would probably start planting false information to attempt to prevent further destruction of his 33.1 labs.

Pulling apart, Clark smiled at Oliver and asked, "I'm going to go take a shower, care to join me, sexy?"

Oliver grinned and said, "Go start the water and I'll join you in a minute. I just want to check my messages, first."

"Okay," Clark said as he headed for the bedroom, and the bathroom beyond. "Don't be too long."

"I won't," Oliver said, as he sat down in a nearby chair and picked up his cell phone from the coffee table. Flipping it open and punching in the necessary code to retrieve his messages, Oliver was shocked when he put it to his ear and the digital voice said, "You have 30 new messages."

"Oliver, this is Chloe. Call me."

"Oliver, this is Chloe again, where are you? Call me."

"Damn it, Oliver, call me already you ass!"

"Oliver, this is Chloe, I'm getting really impatient here. Call me!"

"Oliver, its Chloe. I thought you should know that one doesn't grow up with a three-star general as an uncle and not learn a few things. You'll call me if you know what's good for you, you jackass - because if I have to come find you, you won't be enjoying it!"

Pulling the phone away from his ear so fast one would think it had just burned him, he stared at the phone - a completely confused look on his face. He could hear Chloe leaving him another message. He couldn't hear every word clearly, but the words "red-hot fireplace poker" and "your ass" were audible nonetheless.

"What the hell?" Oliver thought. "Why is Chloe so mad at me? And why is she leaving me threatening voicemail messages? What did I do?"

Quickly stopping the message playback, Oliver scrolled through his calling list, found Chloe's number, and pushed the call button. Placing the phone to his ear, he pulled it back a moment later, as Chloe's voice screamed from the other end, "OLIVER! It's about fucking time! Where in the hell are you and what took you so long to call me?"

Gulping, Oliver placed the phone back to his ear and said, "I'm in Rome, Italy with the team. I had my phone off because we just took out a 33.1 lab on the island of Corto Maltese. Chloe, why are you so mad at me? What did I do to you? I don't understand."

"Don't play dumb with me, Oliver Jonas Queen!" Chloe exclaimed. "You know perfectly well what you did!"

"No, Chloe, I swear, I don't," Oliver said and then a light bulb went off in his head. "If this is about Lois, I'm sorry I hurt her, but we just weren't right for each other."

"This has nothing to do with Lois," Chloe said. "You hurt my best friend!"

"Best friend?" Oliver asked, suddenly even more confused. "You mean Clark?"

"Of course I mean Clark," Chloe said. "Oliver, are you a natural blond? Because if not I think the hair dye has seeped into your brain!"

"Yes, I'm a natural blond," Oliver said. "And what do you mean I hurt Clark? How?"

"By leaving town without at least calling him to say goodbye, you jackass!"

If Oliver was confused before, now he was so confused that he didn't think there was a word for it. "Chloe, why would I call Clark to say goodbye when he's here in Rome with me?"

Silence. And then, "What did you just say?"

"I said why would I call Clark to say goodbye when he's here in Rome with me?" Oliver repeated.

"That's what I thought you said," Chloe said. "Oliver that's impossible. Clark can't be in Rome."

"I assure you, Chloe, he is," Oliver said. "We're sharing a hotel room." He figured maybe it was best to leave out the part about them sharing a bed and going at it like rabbits for the moment.

"Oliver, I don't know what kind of game you think you're playing, but Clark cannot be in Rome with you, because he's here in Smallville with me!"

"What, Chloe that's impossible," Oliver said. "I swear Clark is here in Rome with me."

"You're lying, Oliver."

"No, Chloe, I'm not," Oliver said. "I swear on my parents' graves that Clark is here in Rome with me!"

Again silence. "He's really in Rome with you?" Chloe finally asked.

"Yes, he is," Oliver said - his voice clearly exasperated.

Chloe was silent for a moment and Oliver could hear her taking a deep breath. "Oliver, what happened at the Ridge Facility?"

"You know what happened, Chloe. We blew it up."

"No, I mean, did anything out of the ordinary happen?"

"Well, when I was rescuing Clark from the refinement room, I accidentally broke the detonator," Oliver said, thinking back. "I didn't know that it had been broken until we got outside. Then Clark went back in to set off the explosives manually."

"He what?" Chloe asked, obviously shocked.

"I didn't really want him to do it either," Oliver said, "but he said he was fast and invulnerable. Bart volunteered to do it, but Clark wouldn't let him. He super-sped back in before we could stop him."

Chloe was silent again and Oliver could swear he heard the blond's mind working, trying to figure out what could possibly have happened. Then suddenly, she gasped and he asked, "Chloe, what's wrong?"

"Black kryptonite," Chloe said.

"What? Black kryptonite?" Oliver asked, obviously confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Oliver, you know how I said that different colors of kryptonite affect Clark in different ways?"

"Yeah, I remember," Oliver said. "What does black do?"

"It separates him into two different people," Chloe said. "Has he been acting differently? Like an evil person?"

"What? No!" Oliver said. "I mean, yes, he's been acting differently, but I wouldn't say his behavior has been evil. Why would you think he's been acting evil, Chloe?"

"Well, before you came to Metropolis the first time," Chloe said, "there was an accident at LuthorCorp. Lex was experimenting with green kryptonite – heating it to a certain temperature. It turns out when green kryptonite is heated to the correct temperature it'll turn into black kryptonite. The black kryptonite exposure split Lex into two different people. One good and the other evil – the evil Lex locked the good Lex up in the basement of the Luthor mansion. Eventually, Clark got them to merge back after he used his heat vision to turn the green kryptonite ring that the evil Lex had started wearing into black kryptonite."

"Well, Clark hasn't been acting like an evil person, Chloe," Oliver said. "He's just been acting less up tight. He's refused to wear red or blue the entire time he's been with us, and he's started calling Victor can-opener, A.C. fish stick, and Bart speedy. He also... well..."

"He what, Oliver?"

"Started flirting with me," Oliver said, a bit embarrassed, though he didn't really know why. "We've sort of been sharing a hotel room with only one bed, as a lot more than friends if you get my meaning."

"I knew it!" Chloe said. "I knew Clark was in love with you. The one here in Smallville has been denying it, but it must be because he hasn't consciously admitted it, where the one with you has. Of course, the one with you sounds like Clark on Red K."

"Red K?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, red kryptonite," Chloe answered. "Red makes him lose all of his inhibitions. When he went into the Ridge Facility to trigger the explosives, the heat must have turned some of the green kryptonite into black kryptonite. He must have been exposed and two separate Clark Kents walked out of that building. There's the normal one, who is here in Smallville with me and then there's the one who's in Rome with you – a freer, more laid-back version. The way Clark would act if he didn't have any inhibitions. I suspect it's the normal Clark's inhibitions that are preventing him from consciously accepting the fact that he's in love with you, because he doesn't understand how that's possible, since he's spent so long pining after Lana."

"So, there are really two Clarks running around?" Oliver asked, amazed by that possibility. "What do we do?"

"I should think that's obvious, Oliver," Chloe said. "We get them in the same room together, expose them to black kryptonite, and make them a single person again – as they're supposed to be."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Oliver said. He knew Chloe was right, but a part of him couldn't help but be afraid that once the two Clarks were one again that he'd lose Clark – that his inhibitions would get in the way and it would be the end of their romantic relationship.

"Get the Clark with you back to Metropolis, Oliver," Chloe said.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Tell him that your secretary called," Chloe answered. "Say that as much as you want to stay on the hunt for 33.1 labs, a major business deal is about to fall through and you have no choice but to deal with it personally. You said you're romantically involved with the Clark with you, I'm sure you can convince him that you don't want to be away from him and that he needs to come with you."

"Well, okay, that could work," Oliver said. "Though I think going to Star City would make more sense – it's the main headquarters of my company, after all."

"Yeah, well, Metropolis will have to do," Chloe said. "How am I supposed to get the Clark with me to go to Star City?"

"Well, couldn't you tell him there's a zoner there?" Oliver asked. "I'm sure if you said you'd tracked one to Star City, he'd go."

Chloe remained silent for a moment, and then said, "You're right, Oliver. Okay, grab your Clark, I'll grab mine, and we'll meet in Star City. How fast can you get here in your jet?"

Oliver hadn't really been sure if Chloe knew that Clark could fly or not, but he wasn't going to point it out. Flying through the open air from Rome to Corto Maltese and back with Clark's arm wrapped tightly around him had been exhilarating, yes, but, to be perfectly honest, Oliver had also been quite scared. He knew that Clark would not drop him, but, he was used to flying enclosed in his jet and he wasn't really sure he was used to flying with Clark enough to be comfortable flying such a long distance as that between Rome, Italy and Star City, California.

"Roughly ten-and-a-half hours," Oliver answered.

"Okay, well, it's almost nine in the morning here in Smallville," Chloe said, "so, that means it's like seven in the morning in Star City – so how does six o'clock tonight Star City time sound?"

"Better make it seven, seven-thirty just to be safe," Oliver said. "We can't take off the second I get off the phone, after all. Meet us at Queen Industries – I'll call my assistant and make sure she knows you're coming. You can't miss it – it's the tall tower in the center of the city. The top floor looks very much like the Seattle Space Needle."

"Let me guess – its green isn't it?" Chloe asked.

Oliver laughed. "Yes, it is and before you say anything about me being obsessed with that color, it was my father who built it and picked the color. I had nothing to do with it."

"Okay, Ollie, have a safe flight," Chloe said.

"Goodbye Chloe," Oliver said, as he hung up.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.


	4. Chapter 4

Justice Retold

By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to the television show Smallville are the property of its creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured on the show.

Author's Note: This version of the story has been edited for posting on this site. If you'd like to read the story in its entirety, including the steamier parts, it's posted on my eFiction archives, the links to which are in my profile.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Four

-o-0-o-

"Oliver?" Clark asked as he came out of the bedroom, completely naked. "What's taking you so long?"

Oliver sighed, "I just got off the phone with my secretary. A major deal is on the verge of collapse and if I don't deal with it personally, Queen Industries is going to be out nearly two hundred million dollars."

"Oh, so you have to go back to Metropolis?" Clark asked.

"No, Star City," Oliver said. "Queen Industries does have offices in Metropolis, but it's headquartered in Star City and that's where I need to go to deal with this."

"How long will you be gone?"

"A few days at most," Oliver answered. He didn't like the direction this conversation was headed.

"Okay, well, I'll miss you," Clark said. "But, I understand that your business is very important to you."

"Clark, I want you to come with me," Oliver said.

"You do?"

"Of course!" Oliver said as he got up and pulled the younger man into his arms. "I don't want to be apart from you for a second, let alone a few days."

"As much as I don't want to be away from you either," Clark said, "Stopping 33.1 is important and I think I should stay with the rest of the team. You know we found that 33.1 lab just outside Dublin, so I figure the team and I can go to London and setup our base of operations for dealing with the Dublin facility and you can rejoin us when your business in Star City is completed."

While Oliver agreed that stopping 33.1 was important, he also knew that Clark had to come with him to Star City. If he didn't, then he'd have to deal with a very angry Chloe Sullivan – and if an angry Chloe was capable of making the kinds of threats she did in those voicemails, Oliver really didn't want to know if an angry Chloe could actually carry those threats out. There was just no doubt about it. An angry Chloe Sullivan was scary enough over the phone and Oliver did not want to see it in person – especially when it was him she was angry with.

"Come on, think Queen!" Oliver thought to himself. "You've got to get Clark to come with you!"

Pulling the brunet into a passionate kiss to buy himself some more time to think, Oliver carefully weighed his options and tried to come up with a reason that the brunet had to come with him. In the end, he could only think of one really good reason – it could end up leaving him with a broken heart when all of this was over, but if that meant not dealing with Chloe angry at him, and thus not having to find out exactly what Chloe intended to do with a red-hot fireplace poker and his ass, then he was willing to risk it.

Breaking the kiss and putting on his most charming smile, Oliver said, "Actually, Clark, you have to come with me. True, I have to go there on business, but there's something else that I want to do while I'm there that I can't do if you're not there."

"What's that?" Clark asked, obviously curious.

"Marry you," Oliver answered immediately.

Clark's eyes went wide in surprise. "Ollie, did you just ask me to..."

Oliver nodded and dropped down on one knee. "Clark Joseph Kent, I love you with all of my heart and soul. I never want us to be apart and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Will you marry me?"

Clark was stunned to say the least, but he smiled and said, "Oh, Ollie, I love you too – and yes I'll marry you!"

Getting up and throwing his arms around the brunet, Oliver said, "You've just made me the happiest man on Earth, Clark!" Okay, Oliver knew that this marriage might not last very long – because there was a good chance that once the two Clarks were one again, that Clark would not want to stay married to him – but at least for a few glorious hours before he could file the annulment papers, he could have what he'd secretly wanted for months now – to be Mr. Oliver Jonas Kent-Queen.

Pulling the brunet into a passionate kiss, their tongues battled with a previously unmatched intensity – a testament to how deliriously happy they both were that they were going to be married soon. Breaking the kiss, Clark grinned and asked, "Aren't you supposed to give me a ring?"

Oliver laughed and said, "I didn't decide to ask the question until ten minutes ago when I realized I would be in Star City, so I didn't get a ring yet, but as soon as we touch down, I'll get you one. Hell, I'll buy you a thousand rings, if it'll make you happy. I just want to be with you forever, Clark."

"I want to be with you forever, too, Ollie," Clark said. "And two rings will be enough."

"Two?" Oliver asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Engagement ring and a wedding band, of course," Clark answered with a smile.

"Of course," Oliver said. "Now, why don't you go get dressed and start packing our equipment? I'm going to go wake the other guys and fill them in about what's going on, because we're going to need witnesses at the ceremony."

"Okay," Clark said as he headed back to the bedroom. Turning back to Oliver though, he said, "You may want to put some street clothes on first though."

Looking down at himself and realizing he was still wearing the Green Arrow costume, Oliver grinned and said, "Yeah, you're probably right."

-o-0-o-

After hanging up with Oliver, Chloe sat quietly for a few minutes and thought about her conversation with Oliver. The blond had suggested telling Clark that she had tracked a zoner to Star City in order to get him there. While that would certainly work, she also realized that Clark felt guilty for releasing the zoners in the first place and it might not be the best idea for her to lie to him about one's existence. So, she decided to simply be honest with her friend, because she was sure that he would agree to go to Star City to deal with this problem, because she seriously doubted that Clark would want to just let a black kryptonite induced copy of himself roam free.

Grabbing her purse, Chloe left her apartment above the Talon and headed for her car. Arriving at the Kent Farm, Chloe pulled to a stop. Clark must have heard a car approaching, because he came out of the barn as she was getting out.

Frowning when he saw who it was, Clark said, "Chloe, if you're here to tell me again that I'm in love with Oliver Queen then you can get back in your car and go home, because I don't want to hear it."

Chloe sighed, "That's not why I'm here Clark. We have a serious problem that we need to deal with. Is your mom around? She should hear this."

"Yeah, she's in the house," Clark said as he came closer. "Is everything okay Chloe?"

Smiling Chloe said, "It will be, but we really do need to deal with this."

Nodding, Clark headed into the house and Chloe followed him in. Martha was in the kitchen taking a tray full of freshly baked blueberry muffins out of the oven. Looking up, she smiled and said, "Good morning, you two. It's good to see you, Chloe."

"You too, Mrs. Kent," Chloe said as she sat down on one of the stools by the kitchen island, as Clark did the same.

"So what's this serious problem we have to deal with, Chloe?" Clark asked.

"Serious problem?" Martha asked, obviously concerned.

"Well, Clark, Mrs. Kent, it has to do with what happened at the Ridge 33.1 facility," Chloe said.

"What about it, Chloe?" Clark asked.

"Oliver called me this morning," Chloe said, as she did her best to suppress the grin that wanted to come to her face upon seeing Clark's face take on a decidedly jealous look, as he was probably jealous that the blond had called her and not him. "And I found out why he didn't call you to say goodbye, Clark – it's because you're in Rome with him."

"Chloe what are you talking about?" Clark asked, totally confused. He wasn't the only one, because Martha was looking quite confused, as well, not that Chloe could blame either one of them.

"Well, Clark, as you know, Oliver accidentally broke the detonator when he saved you from the refinement room," Chloe said and Clark nodded.

"Yeah, he did, so then I went in and set the charges off manually, so what?" Clark asked. "What does this have anything to do with you claiming I'm in Rome with Oliver when I'm obviously not since I'm here in Smallville with you?"

"Clark, it would seem that the heat from the explosion turned some of Lex's green kryptonite black and you must have been exposed," Chloe explained. "Because Oliver swears, on the graves of his parents, that there is another Clark in Rome with him right now. That's why he didn't call you to say goodbye, Clark, because you were sitting right next to him when he left – so, it wouldn't have made much sense for him to call you and say goodbye."

"So there's another Clark in Rome?" Martha asked. "Is this what like happened with Lex when he was exposed to black kryptonite?"

Clark looked at Chloe and she could tell from the look on his face that he was obviously worried that there was an evil version of him with Oliver. Shaking her head, Chloe said, "Oliver assured me that the Clark with him is not evil. From what he told me, it sounds more like the Clark in Rome is the red k version."

"The red k version?" Clark asked.

"Yeah, Clark," Chloe confirmed. "Basically, it's you, expect with no inhibitions."

"We have to get to Rome and get the two Clarks back together," Martha said.

"I agree," Chloe said. "But, we won't be doing it in Rome – we'll be doing it in Star City."

"Star City?" Clark asked. "Why Star City?"

"Because we can't be sure how the red k version of you would react to the idea of being rejoined with you," Chloe answered. "So, Oliver is going to tell him that a multi-million dollar business deal is about to fall through and he needs to fly to Star City to deal with it immediately and he's going to make sure that his Clark comes with him. Considering the time difference, we have until about eight-thirty tonight to get to Star City, because we're supposed to meet Oliver and the other Clark at the corporate headquarters of Queen Industries at seven to seven-thirty tonight Star City time, which would be nine to nine-thirty here."

Thinking for a moment, Martha said, "I'll call Lionel."

"Lionel? Why?" Clark asked.

"Because we might not be able to get a flight to Star City that'll get us there in time on such short notice," Martha said. "I know you can just run there, honey, but Chloe and I are coming with to help you deal with this and I think it would be rather hard for you to hold onto us while super-speeding to California. So, we'll call Lionel and ask to use the LuthorCorp jet."

Clark nodded at his mother. He was pretty sure that he could run there and hold onto both his mom and Chloe while doing it, but, then he'd never super-sped with two passengers before and he didn't want to risk hurting either of them.

"Actually, I think it might be a good idea if Lionel comes with us," Chloe said.

"Why?" Martha asked.

"Well, he's one of Clark's secret keepers, right?" Chloe asked and both Clark and Martha nodded. "Well, as much as I hate to say it, as we don't know how Red K Clark is going to act about being rejoined with our Clark, I think it would be wise to have as much help as possible. What I mean is that it would be wise to have as many people there who know about Clark's secret and his weakness as possible." Noticing the confused and questioning looks on both Clark's and Martha's faces, Chloe added, "Clark, you can have the black kryptonite, ready to rejoin with the other Clark. Meanwhile, Lionel, your mom, Oliver and I can be blocking any potential escape routes that Red K Clark might try to use – and we'll all be armed with a lead box with green kryptonite in it, to make sure he doesn't get away."

Thinking for a moment, Martha nodded and said, "That does make sense. The last thing we need is for Red K Clark to get away from us and as the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Clark nodded. He knew it was probably a wise precaution, because while it was true that he had his abilities to help him – the other Clark would have the same abilities, which made dealing with the situation a bit more complicated. "Is Oliver bringing the team with?"

"I don't know," Chloe said. "But, in case he does, we'll take extra boxes and kryptonite with – just in case."

"Wait, Bart doesn't know," Clark said. "Victor and A.C. do because they overheard me telling Oliver, but Bart was Lex's prisoner at the time."

"Clark," Martha said, "I think it's probably safe to say that Red K Clark probably has all your memories up until the point that you were separated. So, he probably knows that you told Oliver, Victor, and A.C. and has already told Bart by now to make it easier for the five of them to travel and work together."

Clark just nodded and Chloe patted his hand reassuringly, as Martha walked over to the telephone to call Lionel.

-o-0-o-

"So, Robin Hood, just so I'm clear on this," Victor said. "The Clark that's up in your suite packing right now is technically not the real Clark – you know that – and you're still going to marry him?"

After he'd gotten dressed, Oliver went and got Victor, who was now with A.C., Bart, and him in the hotel room that A.C. and Bart were sharing. The blond explained what he'd learned on the phone about there being two Clarks and the agreement with Chloe to get him to Star City. Then he also dropped the bombshell that he had every intention of marrying Red K Clark – even though he technically wasn't the real Clark.

"Yes," Oliver said with conviction.

"Well, if there's nothing we can say to change your mind," A.C. said, and Oliver shook his head to confirm that there wasn't, "then you have our blessings and complete support." Victor and Bart nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then. Start getting packed," Oliver said. "I called my pilot on the way down from my suite – the jet is being fueled and readied as we speak. Now, I need to call my lawyer to handle obtaining the marriage license to insure that Clark and I can get married as soon as we land in Star City and I have to call Tiffany's."

"Tiffany's?" Bart asked. "You're really serious about this aren't you?"

"Yes," Oliver said. "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right and that means giving Clark the little blue box and everything."

"And if when the two Clarks are one again, Clark doesn't want you anymore?" A.C. asked.

"Then I'll deal with it," Oliver said. "Obviously, I'll be sad. Hell, I'll be heart-broken, because I've loved Clark since the first moment I laid eyes on him and have wanted to spend the rest of my life with him for almost as long, but, a broken heart is better than an angry Chloe taking her anger out on me in cruel and unusual ways."

"What do you mean by cruel and unusual?" Victor asked.

"Well, I didn't hear the entire message because I took the phone away from my ear," Oliver answered. "But, at one point she did make a threat that involved a red-hot fireplace poker and my ass – call me crazy, but I really don't want to know any more details about that."

Shuddering, Bart said, "I don't blame you, Robin Hood."

-o-0-o-

At ten minutes to seven, Lionel Luthor, Clark Kent, Chloe Sullivan, and Martha Kent stepped off the elevator on the 125th floor of Queen Tower, the tallest building in Star City. Looking up from the papers she was filing, Oliver's executive assistant, Cassie, stood and walked over to the group.

"Good evening," Cassie said. "Mr. Queen told me you were coming – he said I should let you into his office and you could wait there for him."

Pulling a small key ring from her pocket, Cassie walked over to the pair of massive oak doors, on one of which was a gold plaque that read "Oliver J. Queen, CEO, Private," and inserted a key into the lock. Opening the door and flipping the lights on, Cassie ushered her guests into the large and spacious office.

Three of the four walls were paneled in a rich mahogany, which perfectly matched the massive desk in the center of the room, while the fourth wall was a line of floor-to-ceiling windows affording an excellent view of the Star City skyline. Off to one side of the room, was a black granite fireplace, with a portrait of Oliver hanging above it. A pair of comfortable-looking green leather sofas and two armchairs rested in front of the fireplace, affording a slightly more personal conversation area than would be possible at the desk.

"Mr. Queen said that you should make yourselves at home until he arrives," Cassie said. "If you'd like anything to drink, you're welcome to help yourself to the wet bar and if you need anything else, I'll be at my desk."

Once Cassie was out of the room, Clark couldn't help but shake his head. "Oliver is certainly obsessed with green, isn't he? I mean a green office building, green furniture, green carpeting... I'm surprised the desk isn't green."

"Actually, Clark, it wasn't Oliver who picked this décor," Lionel said. "LuthorCorp has had business dealings with Queen Industries in the past and this office hasn't changed since the building was finished – in 1971, nine years before Oliver was born. In fact, the only thing different about this office now is the name on the door and the portrait, other than that it looks exactly like it did when it was Robert Queen's office."

-o-0-o-

A female representative from Tiffany & Co., Oliver's lawyer, Michael Sanders, and an old friend of the Queen family, retired Judge Ephraim Hawke, met the Queen Industries jet at the airport. Taking one of the distinctive little blue boxes from the crisply-dressed woman, Oliver smiled and thanked her, before turning to Clark.

"I know I already did this, but let's do it right now, shall we?" Oliver said with a grin, as he again got down on one knee and said, "Clark, in the short time that we've known one another, you've made me happier then I ever thought possible and I love you more than words can adequately describe. Clark, will you do me the honor of being my husband and allowing me to spend the rest of my life making you happy?"

As he finished saying this, Oliver opened the box, and Clark couldn't help but gasp at the platinum men's ring, set with three diamonds, which rested within. Growing up on a farm in Kansas, Clark had never been much of a jewelry person, but, in this case he would make an exception. This was a symbol of Oliver's love for him and jewelry person or not, he would wear it with pride.

"Yes, Oliver, of course," Clark said with a smile, causing the blond to smile, as he removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto the brunet's left ring finger.

Standing and taking a second blue box from the woman, Oliver handed it to Clark, who opened it and cocked his head in confusion when he saw an identical ring to the one the blond had just given him. Stepping into Clark's personal space, Oliver whispered in the brunet's ear, "I wanted us to match."

A smile spreading over his face, Clark nodded, removed the ring from the box, and slipped it onto the blond's left ring finger, before bringing he brought Oliver's hand up to his lips and kissed it.

Michael Sanders, a distinguished-looking gentleman in his late fifties, cleared his throat and removed a bundle of papers from his briefcase and handed them to Oliver. Quickly looking them over, Oliver shook his head in confusion and asked, "Michael, what is this?"

"A standard prenuptial agreement, sir," Michael answered.

"Michael, I thought you knew me better than that," Oliver said as he ripped the papers in half and handed them back to the man who had been his parents' lawyer, before he was his. "No prenup – I intend to spend the rest of my life with Clark."

Michael smiled. "I did know that's how you would react, but I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't at least try, Mr. Queen." Putting the torn prenuptial back in his briefcase, Michael removed the marriage license he'd acquired for his employer that morning. It was not standard procedure for the county clerk to issue a marriage license without both parties present, but Oliver instructed Michael to call in as many favors as necessary to have the license ready when he arrived in Star City and there were plenty of people, in all levels of government throughout the state, that owed Oliver favors.

"Judge Hawke, I trust everything is in order?" Michael asked as he handed the judge the license.

Looking it over, the seventy-year-old retired judge nodded, and said, "Yes, everything seems to be in order. Shall we get started then?"

Clark and Oliver nodded, and Judge Hawke smiled as he said, "Well then, we are gathered here today in front of these witnesses to join this man," motioning towards Oliver with a smile, "and this man," motioning towards Clark, "in matrimony. If anyone can show just cause as to why these two should not be wed, please speak now or forever hold you peace."

Looking around at the assembled witnesses with a hard look on his face that clearly said, "If any of you object, I will kill you," Clark was very happy when none of them objected, because he'd never killed anyone before and he really didn't want to start now.

"Okay, then," Judge Hawke nodded. "Oliver Jonas Queen, do you take this man, Clark Joseph Kent, to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and forsaking all others until death do you part?"

"I do," Oliver said.

"Do you, Clark Joseph Kent, take this man, Oliver Jonas Queen, to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and forsaking all others until death do you part?"

"Hell yes," Clark said and everyone grinned.

"Okay, then, the rings please?" Judge Hawke asked and the woman from Tiffany's stepped forward and opened a third blue box, from which she removed a pair of matching platinum bands which were inset with several small diamonds all around the band.

Taking one of the rings from the box, Judge Hawke handed it to Oliver and said, "Place the ring on Clark's finger and repeat after me, "With this ring, I thee wed.""

Sliding the ring onto Clark's hand, wearing one of the biggest smiles that had ever graced the blond's face, Oliver said, "With this ring, I thee wed."

Taking the other ring and handing it to Clark, Judge Hawke said, "Please place the ring on Oliver's finger and repeat after me, "With this ring, I thee wed.""

Pushing the ring up the blond's left ring finger to join the other one, Clark said, "With this ring, I thee wed."

Judge Hawke smiled and said, "Then by the powers vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you to be Mr. and Mr. Oliver and Clark Kent-Queen. You may now kiss your groom, Oliver."

Wrapping one hand around Clark's back and placing the other behind his neck, Oliver dipped Clark backwards and kissed him passionately, as the witnesses in the room just grinned and smiled at the pair of them.

-o-0-o-

After congratulating the newlyweds, Bart, A.C., and Victor left the private airstrip at Star City's Robert Queen International Airport, which had been paid for by Oliver's father, saying that they were tired and were going to go check into a hotel. Of course, that wasn't where they were going, just what they wanted Red K Clark to believe for the time being.

-o-0-o-

"Where are they?" Chloe asked as she looked at her watch. "It's already quarter to eight."

"I'm sure they'll be here, Chloe," Martha said, just as Victor, A.C., and Bart walked into the office. All three of them blanched at the sight of Lionel Luthor.

"Don't worry," Lionel said. "I'm not my son and I'm not going to tell him I saw any of you. My only concern is helping Clark."

"Hey guys," Clark said.

"Okay," Victor said. "You know up until just now I wasn't sure I really believed this whole two Clarks thing, but I guess I have no choice now – seeing as how we just left the other Clark at the airport with Oliver."

"Are they on their way?" Chloe asked and noticing the look on Bart's face she added, "I still have a boyfriend."

"Yes, they should be here soon," A.C. answered.

The group waiting in Oliver's office did not have to wait long, because ten minutes later, Oliver's voice could be heard in the reception area outside his office, "Clark, honey, I just need to pick up some papers from my office for my meeting in the morning – but I wanted you to see where I work."

"Clark, honey?" The normal Clark thought, as he walked over and stood next to one of the doors into the office, so that he wouldn't be immediately visible when the pair outside entered.

Walking into the office behind Oliver, Red K Clark was shocked when he entered his new husband's office to find Victor, A.C., Bart, his mom, Chloe, and Lionel Luthor in the room.

"What are you all doing here?" Red K Clark asked.

Nobody said a word, however. Victor, Bart, A.C., Martha, and Lionel merely stood in front of the windows, each holding a small lead box in their hands. Chloe handed Oliver a box and the two of them took up their places blocking the double doors into the office, as the real Clark closed the door and walked into Red K Clark's field of vision.

"What the hell?" Red K Clark asked, obviously shocked to see himself standing in front of him – well, himself dressed in those God awful colors that he refused to wear.

"There was an accident at the Ridge Facility," the normal Clark explained. "When the building blew up some of Lex's kryptonite turned black and I was exposed – separating me from you, the Red K version of Clark Kent."

Red K Clark's eyes narrowed, "Ah, I get it, so you think it's time to fix that, right?"

The normal Clark nodded.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Red K Clark said, "but there is no way in Hell that I'm cooperating." Turning his eyes to Oliver, a look of betrayal in his eyes, he said, "You knew about this didn't you? There was no business deal on the verge of collapse, was there? It was just a ploy to get me here to trap me wasn't it?"

Not able to lie to Clark, even if it wasn't technically the real Clark, Oliver nodded sadly.

"Oliver, I can't believe you!" Red K Clark yelled. "I loved you and you betray me like this?"

"I didn't betray you," Oliver said. "This is for the best."

"Well, you can all just go to Hell," Red K Clark said, as he headed for the door to the office, fully prepared to move Chloe and Oliver by force if he needed to. However, as he approached, they both opened the lead boxes in their hands and Red K Clark immediately doubled over in pain as the effect of the green kryptonite hit his body. Backing away out of range of the damn rock, he then proceeded towards the windows, but not before Lionel, Martha, A.C., Bart, and Victor each opened their own boxes and Red K Clark realized that he was trapped.

"I've got to hand it to you, Clark," Red K Clark said. "You covered all your bases – I'm surprised. After all, you usually don't use your brain. Like in the Ridge Facility when you just charged into the refinement room without even thinking about what might be on the other side of the door. Did you even try to x-ray it? True, it won't work through lead, but come on, Clark – you know Lex likes playing with meteor rocks – how stupid can you be? Oh wait – don't answer that. I know how stupid you can be. I bet you're still clinging to the idea that you're in love with Lana Lang, aren't you? Even though she moved on with Lex and all because you don't want to admit to yourself that you're bisexual and in love with Oliver."

"That's not true, damn it!" The normal Clark exclaimed. It was time to end this – it was bad enough hearing it from Chloe, he wasn't going to stand here and listen to it from himself. Closing the distance between him and his double, the normal Clark held up the chunk of black kryptonite and held it against Red K Clark's chest. Red K Clark let out an angry scream as both Clarks were surrounded in a ghostly looking nimbus of white light and were almost immediately sucked together as if they were magnetically drawn to one another. Thrashing against one another, Red K Clark punched Clark in the mouth and tried in vain to get the upper hand, determined not to be banished, but Clark punched his other self in the jaw, the chunk of black kryptonite in his fist, and in a blinding flash of light, the two Clarks merged into one.

Clark dropped to his knees, exhausted, as Martha closed the box she was holding and came over to her son, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Clark?"

"It's me, mom," Clark whispered as he took a deep breath and shakily got to his feet. "Red K Clark is gone."

A collective sigh of relief could be heard from everyone else in the room, followed by the sound of several lead boxes being clicked shut. Pulling his mom into a hug, Clark reassured her and felt his strength returning. It was then, however, that he caught a glimpse of his ring finger. Breaking the hug with his mother, Clark looked at his finger in confusion.

"What the heck are these?" Clark asked, looking at the two rings on his finger. Martha took her son's hand in her own and gasped at the sight of the diamond and platinum bands encircling his finger.

"They look like wedding and engagement rings," Martha said.

"But, Mom that would mean that I'm..." Clark said, shaking his head a few times to try and clear his jumbled thoughts, "...that means that I'm married. I can't be married – I mean who would I marry?"

Clearing his throat, Oliver stepped forward and said, "Me."

Turning to look at the blond, a look of utter confusion gracing his face, Clark said, "Oliver? What? We can't be married."

"We are," Oliver said, as he held up his own left hand, revealing the twins of the rings that graced Clark's hand. "As of an hour ago, you are Clark Kent-Queen – my husband."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Clark said, "Oliver, stop joking around."

"I'm not joking, Clark," Oliver said sadly as he came closer to the brunet he loved with every fiber of his being.

"I don't understand," Clark said. "Oliver, why would you marry me? It doesn't make any sense – we're friends and nothing more."

"You mean a lot more to me than that, Clark," Oliver said as he loosely wrapped his arms around the brunet's waist. "I love you, Clark."

"No, no, you can't," Clark said, shaking his head. "Oliver, stop lying."

"I'm not lying, Clark," Oliver said. "I love you with all my heart – I never would have married you if I didn't."

"Well, that's just it, isn't it?" Clark asked as he placed a hand firmly on Oliver's chest and pushed the blond away from him. "You didn't marry me! You married Red K Clark – I'm not him."

"But he's in you, Clark," Oliver said. "Somewhere, deep inside, he's there. The man who told me he loved me. The man who said "Hell yes" instead of "I do" at our wedding. Can you honestly say that you don't feel anything at all for me, Clark?"

Remaining silent for a moment, the blond's worst fear was soon realized, as the brunet nodded his head and said, "Yes, Oliver, I can honestly say that. I'm not in love with you. I never have been and I never will be."

Tears flooding his eyes, Oliver nodded and let out a choked sob, before he said, "Then I'll... I'll... call my lawyer... and have him file the..." another choked sob, "...annulment papers in the morning."

A part of Clark felt extremely bad knowing that he was the reason for the tears flowing out of the blond man's eyes, but what was he supposed to do? Live a lie? Pretend he loved Oliver, when he didn't? How could he? He wasn't gay... or bi. He was straight. He was in love with Lana and nobody else. He didn't know why his Red K self had married Oliver, but, if the Red K version truly did have any feelings for the blond, they disappeared during the rejoining.

Nodding his head, Clark took one last look at the rings on his finger, before he pulled them off and took the blond's hand, placing them in it. "Good."

Without another word, Clark walked out of the silent office, as Oliver dropped to his knees for a moment and let out a strangled sob, before crumbling to the floor and curling up in a ball, sobbing like there was no tomorrow.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.


	5. Chapter 5

Justice Retold

By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to the television show Smallville are the property of its creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured on the show.

Author's Note: This version of the story has been edited for posting on this site. If you'd like to read the story in its entirety, including the steamier parts, it's posted on my eFiction archives, the links to which are in my profile.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Five

-o-0-o-

Martha watched her son leave the office and she just couldn't help the disappointment that welled up inside of her. There had been very few, if any, times over the course of Clark's life that Martha Kent could honestly say that she was ashamed of her son – this was one of those times. She knew that her son was struggling with feelings that were new and unfamiliar to him, but that did not give him the right to break Oliver's heart into a million pieces and then just walk out without a word as the blond – his husband - cried his eyes out.

Dropping to her knees, Martha pulled Oliver into her arms and put his head on her shoulder. Wrapping her arms around the crying younger man, she gave him a hug and kissed the side of his head, before she began to rub her hand in circles on his back. Whispering soothing noises in the blond's ear, his crying soon subsided and Martha said, "There, there, Oliver, I know it doesn't seem like it now – but it'll be okay."

"How can it be okay?" Oliver whimpered. "My heart is breaking... over and over."

"Trust me," Martha said. "Mothers know these things, Oliver. Clark does love you – he's just confused right now. He's spent almost fifteen years thinking he's in love with Lana Lang. The thought that he could be bisexual has never crossed his mind and knowing my son he's hoping that if he denies the truth long enough that it'll stop being the truth. He should know better than to think that, but that's just one of his annoying personality quirks that you're going to have to get used to."

"You're talking like Clark and I have a future," Oliver said as he sniffled. He hated crying, especially in front of other people, but he just couldn't help it. When Clark said he didn't feel anything for him, thought the annulment was a good thing, and took his rings off – it was like someone had reached into Oliver's chest, ripped his heart out of his body, and proceeded to run over it with a steamroller.

Grabbing the blond's face in her hands and using her fingers to wipe away the tears that were running down his cheeks, Martha said, "You do, Oliver. Quite frankly, I'm sick to death of Clark wasting his life pining over Lana Lang – its way past time that he moved on. I fully realize that it's going to be an uphill battle, but if it's the last thing I do, I will make him realize just how much he loves you. He may not have admitted it to himself yet, but I can see it every time he looks at you."

Despite the overwhelming sadness in his heart, Oliver smiled weakly and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Kent."

"For what?" Martha asked.

"For comforting me," Oliver said.

"What else would I do, Oliver?" Martha asked. "You're married to my son – that makes you my son, as well, and I will always be here for you, no matter what."

The blond's next words were muffled as Martha had pulled him into another hug and he was talking into her shoulder, but she heard them anyway. He had said in a morose tone, "Not for long."

Once again grabbing the blond's face and looking him directly in the eyes, Martha said, "Oliver Jonas Kent-Queen, don't talk like that. You will be with Clark for a very long time. You can't give up on what you two share just because he's too stupid and pig-headed to recognize it. I will get through to him if it's the last thing I do and I forbid you to give up. I also forbid you to call your lawyer and file for an annulment. Do I make myself perfectly clear, young man?"

Oliver couldn't help the small grin that came to his face. Nodding, he said, "Yes, ma'am."

"Good," Martha said as she hugged him again and smiled up at Oliver when the blond stood and held out his hand to help her stand up as well.

The room was silent for a few minutes, before Lionel broke it. "Well, well, this has certainly been an interesting night. Two Clark Kents, Clark and Oliver's marriage, and running into the Green Arrow's hero team in Oliver Queen's office... or should I say the Green Arrow's office?"

Carefully controlling his features and turning to Lionel, Oliver said, "I don't know what you're talking about, Lionel."

"Don't worry, Oliver," Lionel said. "As I told your team, I'm not my son and I'm not going to tell him anything. I just wish I'd known before now that the Green Arrow was so close – I would have started feeding you inside information on some of Lex's more ill-advised projects – such as SynTechnics, Leviathan, and let's not forget the mother of all ill-advised projects, 33.1."

Oliver carefully studied Lionel for a moment. "Let's just say for a moment that you're right and I really am the Green Arrow, and this is entirely hypothetical mind you, why would I believe any information you provided me with? Why would you want to help me destroy your own company?"

"Not destroy it, Oliver," Lionel said. "Save it from Lex and his madness. He's sinking millions upon millions of dollars into all these military projects that he claims are necessary to defend the planet from an impending alien invasion. Of course, little does he know that the invasion he's so intent on preparing for is never going to happen, seeing as how Krypton was destroyed 20 years ago."

"You know about Krypton?" Bart asked, more than a little surprised. He hadn't known about it for very long, only since the Red K version of Clark had filled them all in on Oliver's jet on the way to Rome, but for Lionel Luthor to know? Bart couldn't imagine even Red K Clark telling the elder Luthor everything.

"Yes, Mr. Allan, I do," Lionel said. "In fact, I probably know more about Krypton than Clark does – since Jor-El picked me as his oracle and I had the entire Kryptonian knowledge base downloaded into my brain. My connection with Jor-El is gone now, but I still remember enough about Clark and his heritage to know that he is not a threat to Earth and I do everything in my power to protect Clark's secret from coming out, including throwing Lex off when he gets too close."

After a moment of silence, Lionel added, "Make no mistake, Oliver. I don't want to see LuthorCorp completely destroyed. I worked too hard to build it to want that – but with Lex in control, he's going to run it into bankruptcy without any help from you. He's so obsessed with his military projects and saving the world, at least that's what he says, that he isn't paying close enough attention to the bottom line. I know my son well enough to know that he doesn't want to save the world – he just wants to conquer it. He's obsessed with power and gaining as much of it as he can – by any means necessary."

Oliver remained quiet for a moment and then said, "I'm not admitting to anything, Lionel, but I will say that for possibly the first time that I can remember, I do agree with you. Lex does need to be stopped."

"Fair enough," Lionel said. "Anyway, assuming there's any truth at all to my theory and I believe there is, nobody will be hearing about it from me, I promise. And I realize you might not want to take any promise from me at face value, so, all I can do is swear to you upon the memory of my late wife that I won't betray you. Despite my faults, and there are many of them, I honestly did love her and don't swear anything on her memory lightly."

Oliver nodded and said, "I know you did, Lionel. I may have been a child when Lillian died, but the few times I saw the two of you together, I could tell that you loved her." Oliver wasn't an idiot and despite Lionel's word, he didn't fully trust the older man, which is why he didn't admit to anything. If Lionel ever did go public with the truth, it would be Lionel Luthor's word against Oliver Queen's, and Oliver was confident that his word was better than Lionel's. After all, of the two of them, it was Lionel who had been disgraced and spent time in prison for parental murder. Regardless of the fact that the older man's conviction was overturned, it was a permanent blemish on his reputation.

"So, what are we going to do?" Chloe asked. "Clark seriously needs someone to kick start his brain."

"I have an idea," Martha said. "I can't be sure that it'll work, but it's worth a shot anyway. Bart, can you get me to the farm quickly?"

Smiling, Bart said, "Sure thing, Mrs. K."

"Thank you," Martha said as she prepared to leave with the younger man.

"What are you going to do, Martha?" Lionel asked.

"I'd rather not say, right now," Martha responded. "At least, not until I know if it'll work. The rest of you head back to Smallville, just in case."

-o-0-o-

When Clark left Queen Industries, he really didn't have any particular direction in mind. He had thought of running back to the farm, but he figured that would be the first place everyone would look. And with Bart with them, it wouldn't even be a few hours before he could be dealing with a conversation that he didn't want to have. So, with no destination in mind, Clark took off running and didn't stop until he found himself clear across the United States on the eastern seaboard – Gotham City, to be exact.

"Perfect," Clark said softly, a smile gracing his face. "Nobody will think to look for me here."

"What a day," Clark thought to himself as he started walking, not really paying attention to where he was going. "First I find out there's another me running around and then I find out that the other me not only joined Oliver's team, but actually married him on top of it! Why would he do that? I mean, even on red k, it doesn't make any sense, because I'm not gay."

"I never said you were gay. Try bisexual." Chloe's words – he may have been super-speeding away when she spoke, but he'd heard them, nonetheless. Hearing them didn't make them true though. How could they be true? Clark wasn't bisexual, he was straight. He'd never once thought of a man in a sexual way – okay, that wasn't strictly true because there had been that dream the other night about Oliver, but he didn't count that because that was just Chloe's insane notions coming back to haunt him. No, he had never thought of a man that way, not before Chloe opened her mouth. It had always been girls for him. He had only ever loved two people in a romantic way before, Lana, and his first wife, Alicia.

"Oh God, what is wrong with me?" Clark thought. "Here I am, only 20 years old and I've already been married twice – and both times I wasn't in my right mind. Hell, the second time, it wasn't even me, technically."

Looking down at his feet as he walked, totally confused by the events of the last twenty-four hours, Clark didn't notice when he turned down a darkened alley or when the four masked thugs followed him.

"Well, well, look what we have here, boys," one of them said, causing Clark to turn around and look at the four men.

"What's a pretty boy like him doing in this part of town, I wonder," another said. By the tone in which it was said, Clark could tell it wasn't really a question – at least not one the person really wanted an answer to.

Pulling a gun out of his jacket pocket, the first man said, "Get on your knees, boy, and give us all your money, or I put a bullet in your brain."

"Look, I really don't want any trouble," Clark said, holding up his hands to show that he was unarmed. He vaguely hoped that these guys would just leave him alone, but, he knew that they wouldn't until they got what they wanted. Not that the brunet had any intention of handing over his wallet or cooperating with them in any other way.

"Do as I say and there won't be any trouble," the man with the gun said, as he stepped closer, his three friends each punching one of their hands with the fists of their other hands.

"I suggest the four of you run along and find yourselves an easier target," Clark said. He really wasn't in the mood for this. It's not like he really cared that the ringleader had a gun pointed at him, because he could easily catch the bullet and even if he didn't, it wouldn't get past his forehead, let alone into his brain.

"Are you deaf and blind?" one of the men asked. "Or are you just stupid?"

"None of the above," Clark answered, without a hint of fear showing in his voice. "Now just go away and leave me alone."

Meanwhile, on a nearby rooftop, Gotham City's own crime-fighting superhero, known as Batman, looked down at the scene in the alley with curious eyes. Just what was this kid in the blue t-shirt and red jacket playing at? Most people who found themselves in the situation he was in would be scared shitless, but, there wasn't a trace of fear on the young man's face – almost as if he knew that the four thugs were no threat to him. That was the only reason that Batman hadn't intervened by now.

"I don't think you understand the way this works, boy," the thug with the gun said. "You see, I have the gun, which means I'm the one who tells you what to do, not the other way around."

"I can see that you have a gun," Clark said. "But, as I said, you should go and find yourselves an easier target, because I think you'll find that I'm not an easy target."

Okay, this was getting out of hand now. Either the boy was just stupid or he just really had a death wish. Moving towards the edge of the building and preparing to jump down into the alleyway and handle the thugs, the ringleader pulled the trigger and fired. Batman was quick to throw one of his batarangs between the young man and the speeding bullet, watching as his flying weapon came within an inch of the bullet, still about two feet away from the young man and missed. Why wasn't the man moving? He was just going to stand there and not even try to dodge the oncoming bullet? Before Batman could react the young man in the red jacket suddenly held up his hand and caught the bullet.

Opening his hand, Clark smiled as the crushed bullet casing, which looked like it had just rammed into a steel wall, fell to the ground and Batman was shocked to see that there wasn't a trace of blood or even so much as a wound on the young man's hand. What was this kid? Bulletproof? Regardless, it was time that he acted, just in case the boy's catching a speeding bullet trick had been a fluke or his mind playing tricks on him. It was after midnight already and it had been a long and tiring night. He had been just about to call it a night and head home when he saw the four thugs following the boy into the alley and decided he should stick around for a little while longer.

Jumping down into the alleyway behind the four thugs, Batman stood up to his full height and said, "I suggest you surrender now."

Turning to see who the newcomer was, all four thugs paled at the sight of Batman standing before them. The ringleader's gun was shaking in his hand as he said, "Look we don't want any trouble from you, Batman."

"Well, then you're in the wrong line of work," Batman said. Pulling another item off his utility belt, the four thugs soon found themselves falling to the ground, as a thick cord wrapped its way around the four of them. Stepping forward and taking the gun, Batman added, "I'll take that, if you don't mind."

Unloading the gun, Batman tossed the bullets into a nearby dumpster, before dropping the gun a few feet away from the tied-up thugs. Police sirens could be heard getting closer, as Batman looked at the four of them and said, "Hope you enjoy a night in jail."

Turning his back on the four criminals, Batman looked at the young man in the red jacket and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Clark said aloud. He muttered, "Physically anyway," softly, but not soft enough for Batman not to hear what he said.

Before Clark could do anything, Batman wrapped an arm around him and shot a bat-shaped grappling hook upward, quickly causing the two of them to ascend into the air and onto the nearby rooftop that Batman had been watching the scene in the alley from. The boy looked confused, so Batman said, "I wanted to talk to you for a moment and that alleyway was going to be crawling with Gotham's finest in a moment. Also figured you probably wouldn't want to explain to the cops what happened down there – catching a bullet in your bare hand without getting hurt? Nice trick."

"Thanks," Clark muttered.

"As you probably heard, I'm Batman. You have a name, kid?"

"Kent – Clark Kent," Clark said and then let out a loud sigh. "Oh, yeah, that's right, I forgot. I guess at the moment, I'm actually Clark Kent-Queen."

"Queen? As in the billionaire, Oliver Queen?" Batman asked. He'd had business dealings, as Bruce Wayne, with Oliver Queen, so the name was familiar. He also knew that the blond billionaire was bisexual, so finding out that he'd married a man wasn't as much of a shock as learning that Oliver had gotten married at all – because honestly, he didn't really seem the type in Batman's mind, since much like Bruce Wayne, Oliver attended all the high society charity balls and the like with a different woman or man on his arm every time.

"Yeah," Clark said. "Apparently we got married in Star City about an hour ago – not that I remember actually doing it. Thankfully, Oliver is filing for an annulment in the morning."

"An hour ago?" Batman asked. "Care to explain how you got from the west coast to the east coast, so fast?"

Looking up at the man dressed like a giant bat, Clark shrugged. "I run very fast." He figured there wasn't much harm in being honest with this Batman character. Clark assumed by what happened in the alleyway that Batman was essentially Gotham City's version of the Green Arrow, so, he figured that he could trust the guy.

"Apparently so," Batman said. "Is this your first visit to Gotham?"

Nodding, Clark said, "Yeah, it is. For the most part, I usually don't leave Kansas, spending most of my time in Smallville and Metropolis." Sitting down on the roof, Clark pulled his legs up, wrapping his arms around them and resting his chin on his knees, before sighing.

"What did you mean earlier when you said physically you were fine?"

"You heard that, huh?" Clark asked and sighed. Might as well tell the bat-obsessed man standing before him – he had asked after all, and talking about it with an objective, uninterested party might make him feel better. "It's been a long day. Before those thugs decided to rob me, I was just trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. I mean, I'm only 20 years old and I've already been married twice. Widowed the first time and the second marriage is due to be annulled. Both times I wasn't even in my right might." Clark decided not to mention the fact that it technically wasn't him that had married Oliver – because he figured the fact that there had in fact been two of him would be too hard to explain.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, Bart and Martha had just arrived back at the Kent Farm. Taking a moment to get her bearings, as she was definitely not used to traveling so fast, Martha said, "Thank you, Bart."

"No problem, Mrs. K."

Following Martha into the house, Bart grinned when she said, "You're welcome to help yourself to whatever's in the fridge – just please clean up after yourself."

"Thanks!" Bart exclaimed, and in a flash there was a veritable feast set out on the kitchen island and Bart was greedily chowing down. Martha just grinned at the young man for a moment, before she headed upstairs to her bedroom to change clothes.

Coming back downstairs a few minutes later, Bart looked up from his food and cocked his head to one side upon seeing Martha wearing a thick red sweater, blue jeans, and what looked like fur-lined boots. "Still a bit warm for that kind of clothing, isn't it, Mrs. K?"

"Not where I'm going," Martha said cryptically, as she opened the hall closet and grabbed her winter coat, along with a pair of gloves, a scarf, ear-muffs, and a hat. Turning to Bart, Martha said, "I'll be back as soon as I can. You're welcome to stay as long as you want, just make sure to lock up before you leave."

"Okay, Mrs. K.," Bart said. He was more than a little bit curious where the older woman was going, but he figured that if she wanted him to know, she'd tell him.

Exiting the house, Martha made a detour to the barn to grab something, before getting into the red pickup truck and driving out to the Kawatche Caves. After quickly making sure that nobody was around – such as Lex Luthor, who unfortunately still held the conservatorship over the caves. Entering the room with the large stone table, Martha quickly put on her winter clothes, before taking the key out of the pocket of her jeans and after taking a deep breath, slipped it into the slot, disappearing in a flash of light.

Arriving in Clark's Fortress of Solitude a moment later, Martha said, "Jor-El, its Martha Kent."

Silence. "Jor-El, I know you can hear me, so can you just save us both a lot of time and talk to me? I need your help with Clark."

"Martha Kent," Jor-El said. "Is something wrong with Kal-El?"

"Well, that depends on how you define wrong," Martha said, as she proceeded to explain everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

"He's certainly had an eventful day, hasn't he?" Jor-El asked. In truth, he'd already known everything that had happened, because he was omniscient where his son was concerned, but he chose not to let Martha Kent know that.

"You don't have a problem with Clark being in love with a man?" Martha asked.

"No, I don't," Jor-El said. "Bigotry based on sexual orientation is a human trait, not a Kryptonian one. On Krypton, same-sex relationships were just as accepted as opposite-sex relationships."

"Well, that's good to know," Martha said. "All I want for Clark is for him to lead a full and happy life – and if being with a man gives him that, then I'm all for it. Only problem is he's too stubborn to admit that he actually likes Oliver in that way."

"I suspect that has a lot to do with human prejudices," Jor-El commented. "I suspect there's also his belief of my expectations for him."

"What does that mean?"

"He's the last son of Krypton, Martha Kent," Jor-El said. "He probably thinks that one reason I sent him to Earth was to find a mate and have as many children as possible to insure that Kryptonian blood doesn't die with him."

"Is that what you want for him?"

"Much like you, I'm sure," Jor-El said, "I wouldn't be averse to the idea of grandchildren. However, as I'm sure you well know there are ways for Kal-El to have children and still be with this Oliver Queen person."

"It's way past time that Clark got over Lana Lang," Martha commented. "All that girl does is bring him heartache and he really does love Oliver – I can tell. The only problem is getting him to realize it and admit it – he can be very stubborn and pig-headed when he wants to be."

Martha was shocked when Jor-El laughed at that comment – she honestly didn't think he was capable of it.

"Now you sound like Lara," Jor-El said. "She used to accuse me of being stubborn and pig-headed about ten times a day – so, I guess it makes sense that my son has followed in my footsteps."

"So, what do we do, Jor-El?" Martha said. "I'm not going to stand by and let Clark be miserable and Oliver hasn't exactly had the easiest of lives. He lost both of his parents at a young age and he's afraid to love anyone, because he thinks if he does he's going to lose them. He took a chance on Clark and now he's heartbroken by Clark's rejection."

"There might be a way," Jor-El said. "I can't be sure that you'll like it, because it involves tricking Kal-El, but sometimes the end does justify the means."

"I'm listening," Martha said, as Jor-El proceeded to explain his plan.

After several moments of silence, Martha nodded and said, "That could work. I hate to take part in tricking my son in that way, but, as you said, the end justifies the means. If it means Clark and Oliver will be happy, then, it'll definitely be worth it."

"Agreed," Jor-El said.

-o-0-o-

"What do you mean you weren't in your right mind?"

"Well, suffice it to say that I have a very unique physiology," Clark answered. "There's a substance which I thankfully don't come into contact with very often, because every time I do, it tends to have disastrous results. It removes all of my inhibitions and I end up doing and saying things that I would never do. Such as going off to Vegas and marrying my first wife, Alicia, after only dating her for a couple of days. We'd first met a few months before that, but she had been obsessed with me – to the point that she did things that landed her in Belle Reve Sanitarium. She was released and I was going through a rough patch, got exposed to that substance I mentioned, and married her."

"You said you were widowed, so I assume this Alicia is dead?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah, she is. She took a bullet that was meant for me. She knew that it wouldn't hurt me, but there were other people around at the time and so she jumped in front of me to protect my secret. Of course, that isn't actually what killed her. One of my classmates at Smallville High was killing people that he felt were immoral and he was framing Alicia for his crimes. When she confronted him, he hung her from the rafters in my family's barn."

"Your secret?" Batman said and then after a moment added, "You don't have to give me details if you don't want to."

"Suffice it to say that that unique physiology I mentioned gives me a few abilities that the average human doesn't have – such as being virtually invulnerable to the point that bullets bounce off my skin."

"Sounds useful."

"Well, there are plenty of people with strange abilities in Smallville," Clark said, deciding to let this Batman person think he was meteor-infected. "The meteor shower there in the 80's infected a lot of people – gave them strange abilities. Many of them use those abilities for nefarious purposes and I've helped the authorities in getting many of them locked up in Belle Reve – all without revealing that I'm anything more than a farm boy who tends to be in the right place at the right time."

Batman nodded. Okay, this Clark Kent person was very interesting indeed. Deciding to move on, he asked, "So, what about your second marriage?"

"Don't remember it actually happening," Clark said. "But, apparently Oliver and I got married on his jet in Star City. I have no idea why I married him even on the substance I mentioned. I'm not gay. I'm also not bisexual. Until my friend Chloe planted the insane idea in my head that I was in love with Oliver a couple days ago, I'd never even once thought of a guy in a sexual way."

"Are you sure you're straight?" Batman asked and when Clark looked up and looked like he was going to angrily respond, Batman held up his hand and said, "Hear me out, Clark. It's perfectly normal for a person to go through life thinking they're 100% straight and then suddenly meet someone who makes them question that, even if they don't do it consciously. I've known a few people who found themselves in that situation," myself included, Batman, or more accurately Bruce, mused in his head, "who were only attracted to women and then suddenly they met a man who stirred feelings inside of them that they didn't think were possible."

"Well, that's just it," Clark said. "Until Chloe said something, I've never felt anything more than friendship for Oliver. True, there were times that he was mad at me for various things and I wanted to do whatever it would take so that he wouldn't be mad at me anymore, but, that's normal right? I mean not wanting a friend to be mad at you? It doesn't mean that you're in love with them."

"True," Batman said. "That is entirely normal to not want your friends to be mad at you. But, I'm curious here. You said you'd never felt anything for Oliver other than friendship until Chloe said something. What did you mean by that?"

Clark blushed and said, "Well, the night she said that I had a dream in which I relived a conversation that Oliver and I had had a couple days earlier. However, it took a decidedly different turn when it turned into a very erotic dream that I'd rather not go into details about."

"Okay, so after Chloe said something to you, you had an erotic dream about Oliver?" Batman asked and Clark nodded. "Okay, answer me this question. Do you always remember your dreams?"

Staying silent for a moment, Clark shook his head and said, "Well, no, most of the time I don't."

"Well has there ever been another time that you woke up having had a similar dream and didn't remember what happened?" Batman asked. "As in that it might have been about Oliver, but you didn't remember the dream and assumed it was about somebody else?"

Clark looked like he was about to object, but then fell silent. Obviously thinking about Batman's question for a moment, Clark nodded and said, "Well, yes, I guess that's possible."

"So, might it not be possible that your feelings for Oliver actually do run deeper than you realize?" Batman asked. "That subconsciously you have more than friendly feelings for him that your conscious mind simply hasn't acknowledged?"

Thinking about it for a moment, Clark nodded and said, "Well, yes, I guess that might be possible. I just don't understand how. I mean, I've been obsessed with this girl named Lana since I was five. Of course, things have never really worked out all that well between us and she's engaged to Lex Luthor now."

"Lex Luthor?" Batman thought. "What is with this kid? A farm boy from Kansas with strange, presumably meteor-induced abilities, who knows two of the richest men in the country?"

"Well, if she's engaged, don't you think it's time you moved on?"

"I still love her though," Clark said. "I broke up with her because I didn't trust her with my secret, but the feelings are still there."

"Does Oliver know your secret?"

"Yes, he does," Clark answered. "I didn't mean to tell him, but, he does know."

"So, is it possible that you trust Oliver more than Lana?" Batman asked. "I mean, you may not have meant to tell him, but you still did. There must be some trust there for you to do that and I'd say it's probably more than you feel you have with Lana."

Remaining silent and really thinking about it, Clark nodded, "Yeah, I guess it's possible that I trust Oliver more than Lana. Of course, it helps that I know some of his secrets that he'd rather not have get out."

Well, that's interesting. So, Oliver Queen had secrets that he didn't want to get out. To be honest, Batman had always been more than a little suspicious when he'd first head about the Green Arrow, whose activities had begun in Star City, before moving to Metropolis – shortly after Oliver Queen had moved from Star City to Metropolis. He was aware that most people would consider it a huge leap to think that Oliver Queen and Green Arrow were the same person, but it made sense in Batman's mind – after all, donning a costume and fighting crime was something that he was very familiar with.

"So, you trust him more than Lana and you've had at least one erotic dream about him," Batman summarized. "If you ask me, you should stop him from getting that annulment and give your marriage a shot. You might realize that he's the one you're meant to be with."

"Something tells me this isn't exactly normal for you, is it?" Clark said after several moments of silence. "Dishing out relationship advice?"

"You're right it isn't," Batman said. "However, there's just something about you Clark Kent. I've always fancied myself a great detective and you piqued my curiosity. I wanted to know what a kid like you was doing wandering around the streets of Gotham after midnight – it's not a sight I see very often. And then you further surprise me by catching a bullet in your hand and not getting hurt."

"Well, thanks for the advice," Clark said as he stood up. "I'm still not sure I totally understand what it is I feel for Oliver, but I guess there might be something more than friendship. At the very least, I really should go and apologize to him, because he was in his right mind when we got married and my rejection was not easy on him. It's the first time I've ever seen him crying."

"Yes you should go then," Batman agreed.

"If you're ever in Kansas, look me up, Batman," Clark said and then with a grin, he added, "Oh and by the way, nice precaution lining that cowl of yours with lead."

Batman didn't get a chance to respond to that, because in a quick gust of wind, Clark Kent was gone.

"Invulnerability, speed, and x-ray vision?" Batman thought to himself. "You're very interesting, Clark Kent, very interesting indeed."

-o-0-o-

At six am sharp, Oliver, Chloe, Bart, A.C., Victor, and Lionel met Martha at the Kawatche Caves. Only Chloe and Lionel knew what was going on when Martha told them to meet her there and to bring extra warm winter clothes. Well, they didn't know everything, because they knew nothing of Jor-El's plan that Martha had agreed to, but they understood that the destination was the Fortress and thus could understand the need for warm clothes.

"So, why did we need to dress so warmly?" A.C. asked. "It's not exactly cold here in Kansas right now."

"Because in a moment, we won't be in Kansas anymore," Martha said. "Everyone get dressed. You'll understand in a few moments."

Once everyone was bundled up in their winter attire, Martha pulled a small octagonal disk out of the pocket of her coat and walked over to the large stone table in the center of the small side room of the caves. Looking around at the curious stares, Martha explained, "We're going to Clark's fortress in the Arctic, so, the winter clothes are necessary because it certainly isn't t-shirt and shorts weather there."

"Clark has a fortress in the Arctic?" Oliver asked. That was something that Red K Clark had apparently left out. Of course, nobody had ever asked, so, maybe he just didn't feel compelled to share.

"Yes, Oliver, he does," Martha replied. "All the knowledge of Krypton is stored there, along with the AI consciousness of his biological father, Jor-El. I went to see Jor-El yesterday and he came up with a way to get Clark to realize that he's in love with you Oliver. I'm afraid that it does involve tricking him in a most unpleasant way, but in this case, I'm inclined to agree with Jor-El that the end justifies the means."

"And just what kind of means are we talking about?" Victor asked.

"In a nutshell," Martha said, "we're going to kill Oliver."

"Excuse me?" Oliver asked, obviously more than a little shocked by that statement. Holding up his hands in a defensive position, the blond slowly backed away, a look of fear on his face, as everyone else looked at Martha as if she had completely lost her mind.

Martha smiled, "Relax, Oliver. We're not really going to kill you, at least not permanently."

"Um, Mrs. K? Last time I checked killing someone is very permanent," Bart said, the look of confusion on his face clearly visible on everyone else's faces.

"Have any of you ever read Romeo and Juliet?" Martha asked. Victor, A.C., Chloe, Lionel, and Oliver nodded that they had indeed read it, as Bart asked, "Do Cliffs Notes count?"

"Basically, we're giving Oliver a Kryptonian version of what Juliet took to make everyone think she was dead," Martha said. "You will appear to be dead, Oliver – even the best doctor in the world would think you were dead. You won't be, however, and we will revive you and you will suffer no lasting side effects. But, it won't be until Clark sees you dead. Jor-El thinks that when Clark is confronted with the idea that he's lost you forever, he'll realize what you mean to him."

"That seems rather cruel," Oliver said, with a frown. He loved Clark with all of his heart after all, so doing something like that to him, just didn't sit well with him.

"I know it does," Martha said. "However, my son is very stubborn and sometimes it takes drastic measures to knock some sense into his head. I hate the idea of doing this to him, but if it means that he'll finally wake up and realize that he's in love with you, Oliver, I think it'll be worth it."

After several moments of silence, Oliver nodded and said, "Okay, we'll do this Jor-El's way. I don't really like it, but, if it gets me the happily ever after with Clark that I've wanted for months, then, I'll do it."

"Everyone grab onto me and hold on," Martha said, as she prepared to put the key, which was actually a one-time-use-only duplicate that Jor-El had given her, into the slot on the table. Once everyone was touching her, Martha slid the key into the slot and they all disappeared in a blinding flash of light, as the key, having been used its one time, dissolved into thin air.

-o-0-o-

Upon leaving Gotham City, Clark had every intention of seeking out Oliver, but by the time he'd made it back to Smallville, he was extremely tired and decided to go to the farm and get a few hours of sleep. Running from the West Coast to the East Coast and then back to the Midwest was definitely not easy and combined with the already tiring day that Clark had had, he was exhausted. Too tired to even dream, Clark slept soundly for several hours, not even hearing when his mother had entered the room at about twenty minutes after five that morning to check on him.

It was finally around ten in the morning that Clark awoke and after quickly getting dressed, he headed downstairs. Clark may not always show it, but he did have a very good head on his shoulders, and having watched Chloe researching various things several times, Clark had picked up enough to check various records. Checking the records at Metropolis International, Clark saw that the Queen Industries jet had landed in Metropolis at shortly after eight that morning. He barely noticed that the LuthorCorp jet had landed in Metropolis at four in the morning.

Smiling to himself, Clark put on a burst of speed and was soon in Metropolis, heading up to Oliver's penthouse in the Clock Tower. Entering the spacious apartment, Clark quickly realized that despite Oliver having arrived in Metropolis nearly two hours earlier, he wasn't in his penthouse, as Clark checked every single room and found all of them empty. He was just about to head downstairs to Oliver's corporate office two floors below the penthouse, when a familiar buzzing sensation rang out in his head.

"Damn it, Jor-El!" Clark thought. "What do you want now?"

Knowing that the pain coursing through his head wouldn't stop until he went to the Fortress, Clark sped back to Smallville, which was no easy task, because the pain in his head made it hard to concentrate. Quickly taking the key from its hiding place in the barn, Clark made his way to the Kawatche Caves, placed the key in the slot, and soon found himself in the Arctic.

"Hello Kal-El," Jor-El's voice boomed.

"What do you want now, Jor-El?" Clark asked, obviously annoyed.

"It is time for your training," Jor-El said. "I'm afraid I can no longer accept "no" for an answer."

"Well, you're just going to have to," Clark said. "I have more important things to do right now. Not the least of which is dealing with the rest of the zoners."

"All I ever get from you is excuses, son," Jor-El said. "Well, no more! You will come for your training immediately or someone close to you will die!"

"You've already taken my father, Jor-El," Clark said angrily. "I won't let you take anyone else!"

"Will you come for your training then?"

"No!"

"Then so be it," Jor-El said. "May his death be on your head, Kal-El!"

"Whose death?" Clark asked.

In a blinding flash of light, Oliver appeared in the middle of the Fortress and Clark's eyes went wide, as he said, "No, Jor-El, please don't!"

It was too late, however, because Oliver was clutching at his throat as if he was choking. Mere seconds later, the blond dropped lifelessly to the ground. Running over to him, Clark quickly felt for a pulse. Feeling none, he tuned his hearing, searching desperately for the blond's heartbeat. When he heard none, Clark stood up, and angrily shouted, "DAMN YOU, YOU BASTARD! I LOVED HIM!"

The second the words left his mouth, Clark knew that he meant every word. He wasn't going to hide it anymore. He had fallen in love with the blond who now lay dead at his feet. Before he could be overcome with grief, however, he could suddenly hear several pairs of hands clapping and he was shocked when he saw his mom, Chloe, Lionel, A.C., Bart, and Victor stepping into view.

"It's about time you admitted it, Kal-El," Jor-El said, as a bright beam of light shot down from the ceiling and hit Oliver, who suddenly woke up, as if he had only been asleep and not dead. Standing up, Oliver quickly found himself engulfed in the brunet's arms, which he didn't really mind because to further the ruse, he had removed his winter jacket and accessories. It was definitely very cold in the Arctic.

"Oliver, you're alive," Clark said, as he hugged the blond tightly. "Thank God!"

After a moment, Clark and Oliver ended their hug, and Martha stepped forward, holding out Oliver's coat to him, which he quickly put on, followed by a pair of gloves, a scarf, and a hat. He was still a bit chilly, but, not as badly as before.

Looking around at the other people in the room, Clark asked, "Would someone please explain to me what is going on here?"

It was Jor-El who decided to answer. "Kal-El, Martha Kent came to me yesterday and told me everything that happened with Oliver and your other self. I could tell that you were in love with him, but you didn't wish to admit that. So, I decided to force you to admit it, by making you think you'd lost him forever. I realize that it was cruel, but I can also see how much this human means to you, so, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, if the end result is your happiness, my son."

"So, you're not going to kill anyone I love to force me to come for my training?"

"No, Kal-El, you have my word on that," Jor-El said. "I understand your reasons for putting off your training at this time and I respect that decision. I hope that you will come for you training once the Phantom Zone escapees are dealt with, but, I promise you that I will not harm anyone you love to get to you."

"So, you don't have a problem with Oliver and me being together?" Clark asked. That had honestly been one of the fears that was holding him back from accepting the fact that he loved the blond – a fear that Jor-El wouldn't like the idea of his only son being in love with a man and hurt or kill the older man.

"No, Kal-El, I don't," Jor-El said. "If you had come for your training, you would already know this, my son. On Krypton, it was perfectly acceptable for people of the same gender to be romantically involved. In fact, before I met and fell in love with your mother, I was involved in such a relationship myself. On Krypton, we understood that love is love, and that it doesn't matter what package it comes in. Whether it is between a man and a woman, two men, or two women, it is something to be cherished and protected – not despised and looked down upon as so many humans are apt to do."

"Clark does this mean you actually want to be with me?" Oliver asked in a hopeful tone.

Clark smiled and pulled the blond into his arms, "Yes, Ollie, I do. Forgive me for being stupid, please. I still don't fully understand my feelings for you, because they're very new to me, but, I do want to give us a shot, if you're willing."

"Willing?" Oliver asked. "I'm more than willing, Clark. I love you with every fiber of my being. Does this mean you don't want me to annul our marriage?"

"You do and I'm going to have to hurt you," Clark said with a smile. "I may not understand my feelings, but that doesn't make them any less real. I do love you, Oliver Queen."

"Well, then, you need to practice getting my name right, Clark," Oliver said with a grin. "It's not Oliver Queen – it's Oliver Kent-Queen."

Clark laughed, "So, it is, so it is."

Leaning forward, Clark captured Oliver's lips in their very first kiss as a married couple. As his tongue darted into the blond's mouth, a sense of happiness and completeness he'd never felt washed over him and he knew in that moment that no matter how new these feelings might be, they were right and that he would be with Oliver from now until the end of time.

-o-0-o-

The End.


End file.
